


Soul After Soul

by lantia4ever



Series: Time and Souls [2]
Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxiety, Avengers Tower, Avengers team actually being a team, Domestic Avengers, Extremis Tony Stark, Extremis does what author wants, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity Stone Soul World (Marvel), Infinity Stones Are Sentient, IronStrange is Endgame, Loki is a Good Bro, M/M, PTSD Elements, Parallel Universes, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Selectively mute Tony Stark, Sentient Infinty Stones, Sign Language, Slow Burn, Technopathy, WinterIron is a secondary pairing here in the Parallel Universe, attempting at least comic book compliance though, kind of, more time shenanigans, otherwise he's as chaotic as ever, to the select few
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:41:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28697853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lantia4ever/pseuds/lantia4ever
Summary: The war is won. Half of the universe saved. Thanos and his army defeated. And Tony Stark lays dying on the battlefield, knowing that his journey is finally about to come to an end.Until he wakes up, in a world so familiar yet so different, and instead of journey's end he finds himself standing at the beginning of one.The impossible journey back home.[SEQUEL to Time After Time - must read first or risk being as lost as Tony]
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Loki & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Time and Souls [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480115
Comments: 161
Kudos: 166





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Ironstragers! ~ 
> 
> In the spirit of setting 2021 on the right path and dumping the trash of a year that was 2020 once and for all, I'm back with some unfinished business. Starting with the fic that was supposed to be my ultimate answer to post-Endgame IronStrange happy end (with extra dose of angst and pain, just as we like it here), before 2020 sucked the ficwriting soul out of me. But it's 2021 and we're back on track, babeeey! 
> 
> Enjoy and stay safe wherever you are! <3

The first thing his brain registers as he slowly wakes up is that nothing hurts. The fleeting memory of the excruciating pain is now nothing but a dull ache, easily ignored in favor of the fluffy, comfortable bed he’s lying in.

That’s the second thing that hits him like a ton of bricks – _he’s awake_.

He’s _alive_.

With that realization, Tony wills his heavy eyelids to fully open and scan around the eerily familiar room.

It’s not a hospital, the Compound’s infirmary or any of the bedrooms there…besides, the Compound’s gone. He remembers that bit. These gray walls, French windows and spacious interior belong to the Tower. He built this thing from the ground up and even in this post almost-dying state he can recognize it immediately. 

First alarm bell is him being alive, second alarm bell is the Tower…for a moment he considers going back to sleep and maybe never waking up again in case this is about to turn into some weird form of afterlife.

The Tower is a giant hub of offices now, any remnants of former living quarters – including the penthouse – are gone. With the Compound destroyed it would still make no sense to use the Tower again. So _why is he here_?

Feeling lucky and meeting no resistance from his limbs whatsoever – third alarm bell right there – he sits up and throws his legs over the edge. No discomfort, no pain…like he hadn’t just snapped his fingers and endured a lethal amount of gamma radiation.

He inspects his right hand in the dimmed lighting of the room, noting the slight discoloration and scarring running up underneath the long-sleeved pajamas, presumably all the way to his shoulder and possibly even the right side of his face. This is the only proof so far that the final battle with the other Thanos was not just a fevered dream or a crazed product of his imagination.

He stands up in one fluid motion, the fact alone multiplying his growing fear and suspicion. His joints don’t complain, his back…might not even have a spine! It’s been years since he could jump up from the bed in the morning without at least _some_ bodily complaints and he’s not been getting younger.

How did he survive his own death and instead of being totally crippled he feels like being back in his thirties?! Hell, twenties even!

He moves across the silent room and peeks out of the window – the outside blinds are almost completely shut, but leave an opening big enough for him to make out what lies beyond.

New York City.

It’s dark outside, the night amplifying the lights coming off of the other buildings. This isn’t the penthouse but it’s definitely one of the floors higher up because he can see across the skyline and even with the soundproof properties of the building, he can tell the city is bustling with life, traffic and people everywhere he can see.

An unlikely sight for the past five years. Even when people flocked to the bigger cities, New York never quite regained its previous energy.

The snap is reversed now, so it would make sense…it’s the only thing that would make sense so far.

Tony turns back around and stares into the empty room – neat and tidy, definitely one of the guest rooms he recalls each floor having. Before they were all turned into office space!

Staring into nothingness will not provide an answer, so he takes a deep breath and forces his voice to do its job for once. “Hello?”

“ _Good evening, Mister Stark_.”

Tony startles at the sound of the voice, shoulders tensing and ice creeping up his spine as his brain processes the greeting and thus provides the gazillionth alarm bell ringing in his ears. Either that or it’s the blood rushing up, his heart speeding into an unhealthy tempo.

“JARVIS?” Tony whispers, taking a wobbly step back, pressing against the cool window glass.

“ _Indeed, Sir_.”

He listens to the unmistakable accent and his head spins. Surviving the snap, not being in pain, somehow ending up in the Tower…his brain can allow all that being in the realm of possibilities.

JARVIS though? JARVIS is taking all those possibilities, folding them into a neat package and crushing them to bits with extreme prejudice. JARVIS is gone. Dead. His core only ever surviving through Vision. There is no possibility for JARVIS to be back.

“ _I understand your confusion, Sir, but please do remain calm. You have been recovering within the Tower for the past few weeks and I assure you that you are in no danger from any occupants inside, myself included_.”

He would lie if he’d say JARVIS’s voice didn’t settle down his nerves at least a little bit. An old, long forgotten reaction to the AI’s presence and words. He relaxes for just a fraction, enough to stop racing his heart towards a stroke, and makes a hesitant step forward into the room.

This must all have a good explanation, so he lets his brain switch into science mode and ignores all the ringing alarms. If this is not the suspected twisted version of the afterlife and there is in fact some danger waiting for him outside, it’s not like he’s afraid.

Afraid of what? Dying? He’s been fucking ready! For _years_! Some days, he could have sworn he was already dead.

“How?”

“ _If I may suggest you take the elevator up to the roof? I believe the explanation would be best received from someone possessing…your own understanding of this situation_.”

So much for a _simple_ explanation if JARVIS doesn’t feel like providing it.

Tony nods, slithers into a comfy-looking pair of slippers and heads out of the room and into the common area outside – it’s exactly how he remembers it. Most of the floors had similar design but this is exactly how he remembers it to be.

Did he travel back in time?! Bullshit. Time doesn’t work that way. Even with the Time stone’s power and the gauntlet he wouldn’t be able to just pop back in…what year is it?! With JARVIS still around, this would have to be in between 2012 and 2014.

He steps into the waiting elevator and without thinking, he signs the question into the air. FRIDAY would decipher and reply to the message…but she’s not here. The realization stabs him painfully in the gut. Of course, hearing JARVIS again after all these years is…nice, but he’s mourned his first AI already and he doesn’t quite know how to deal with FRIDAY’s absence now.

“ _Is that sign language_?” JARVIS asks, the curious undertone almost breaking something long forgotten in Tony.

He really did miss JARVIS and as much as he loves his baby sister and all their AI extended family, none has ever quite reached JARVIS’s seemingly artificial level of sentiency. They all have a personality – one Tony programmed for them.

JARVIS evolved beyond that, learning and shaping his own throughout the years.

“ _Ah, I see. You asked what year it is_?” JARVIS asks, always quick to adapt to novelties.

Tony nods, letting the elevator take him up to the roof.

“ _The year is 2019, Sir_.”

That…can’t be right. So he _is_ back in time…the question is, _what_ time?! 

When the elevator comes to a halt and opens up, the answer presents itself in the form of a man, already awaiting his arrival.

Tony stares at him – and _he_ stares right back.

“Heard you’re awake…good,” _a Tony Stark_ breaks the silence, the voice as familiar as it is strange to Tony’s own ears. “Well? Come out here, grab a drink…you must have questions and trust me when I say the answers will be best received with a drink. Double, on the rocks and the bottle close by for refills.”

Tony doesn’t move. _Cannot_ move. Cannot do anything but run his wide eyes over his doppelganger, his mind already in an uproar. It’s like looking in the mirror and seeing himself from five…maybe even more years ago.

Less wrinkles and no graying hairs, fit as ever, dressed in some version of the undersuit Tony used to wear before inventing the particle armor, and dark crimson sunglasses hiding his eyes.

If anything is amiss, it’s the lack of any form of the arc reactor and then there’s the giant scar running up the left side of his face and neck, disappearing over the shoulder and underneath the outfit.

“Sure, take a second to process. I had enough time to do that already so…anyway. I’m hoping introductions aren’t necessary? Unless…you’re not who I think you are. You don’t have some weird ass name, do you? I know, parallel universes and all that crap but hey, I wouldn’t put it past at least _one_ part of the multiverse where Howard named us something ridiculous like…Bob. Or Adolf. Or Jenny, fuck if I know, we might as well be women somewhere. Huh…that would be fun,” he shrugs and walks back to a little bar behind him, grabbing two empty glasses and looking way too comfortable with this insane scenario.

Tony blinks and takes the few steps out of the elevator, looking around the not so familiar area of the roof. He didn’t really use this space for anything other than the occasional satellite maintenance or emergency landing space.

This… _other him_ has quite the set up in here. The bar, a couple sunbeds and an assortment of patio style furniture, a workbench and the helipad on the farther side is lit-up with strange colors and shapes that remind him of Thor’s Asgardian teleport thingie.

“You a whiskey or brandy man? Pffft, whiskey of course. Why am I even asking _myself_ that?” the other him speaks and spins around with drinks ready in his hands. “Okay…is this just the expected speechless period following your _unexpected_ awakening and meeting yours truly aka me…aka you? Or is this a thing…like an actual not-talking thing? That why you were using sign language?” he showers him with questions and Tony can completely sympathize. 

His own head is bursting with all kinds of questions, a couple hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Even if he felt like saying them all aloud, he’s not sure he would find the right words anymore. Definitely not in his current state of general confusion.

So he just nods, focusing on the other Tony’s reaction. The glasses hide most of it but it’s still like watching his own reaction in a mirror. Which is interesting…and weird at the same time.

“Guess that’s a yes to both? Alright, I can work with that,” he shrugs it away as if he’s just dealing with some random minor issue of the day and takes a few hesitant steps toward him, offering him one of the glasses with an outstretched hand. “Don’t like being handed things, right? Well, since it’s _us_ I’m bold enough to assume we’ll be okay with handing _each other_ stuff.”

Tony scoffs and does accept the offering with an equally hesitant step forward.

“Cheers,” the other him clinks his glass against Tony’s the instant, downs the double-shot of whiskey and in a couple long strides, he walks off to a wicker armchair and plops down into its cushions. “Take a seat,” he points at the opposite sofa of the same design. “You have questions and now that we have the drink part done…you better sit down.”

Hearing the dead seriousness in that voice, Tony gulps and carries his drink over to the sofa, sitting down. The last time he heard himself use that tone was when he asked Rogers that one fateful question: _“Did you know?”_

He didn’t like the answer back then so he can only assume he’s not going to like whatever follows here either. With that, he also downs the drink despite his successful abstinence of the past few years and focuses on the unreadable face of his counterpart.

‘Where am I?’ he signs, hoping that JARVIS can translate.

The other him tilts his head to the side, the glasses likely hiding a squint. “That’s a pretty heavy question to start with. The obvious answer is – you’re in the Avengers Tower in New York, USA, Earth. The uh… _we need more booze for this shit_ answer is – you are in the parallel universe or reality that you basically created while you were borrowing our Infinity stones.”

He suspected that was the case. Travelling back in his own time would be impossible not to mention the differences here are too major to pass for a 2019 he remembers. Ending up in the past of the parallel universe they yoinked the stones from…now that’s putting everything back to the realm of possibilities, just the way he likes it.

‘How?’ he asks with the simple spin of his hands.

“How _what_? How did you end up here? How are you alive? How can the parallel version of yourself look so much cooler than you?” he grins.

Tony rolls his eyes and decides to fight _his_ snark with _his_ own. ‘Yes.’

“Well, I think I’m using more moisturizer than you. Don’t worry, you can still save it,” he wiggles his eyebrows and sighs. “Obviously I’m avoiding the other answers because…let’s say they are uh…complicated. You figured that out already, of course,” he nods after easily decoding Tony’s ‘you don’t say’ expression. “Look, I have no idea what’s been going on in your fun reality so really, I can just assume…you used the stones. All of them at the same time, right?”

Tony nods, leaning back into the comfort of the pillows.

“You…snapped your fingers to destroy Thanos and his army,” he states rather than asks and there is something off about the way he says it, like a warning.

Tony confirms that with another nod and his other self mirrors the motion, shoulders heaving with a deep inhale and then his whole body relaxes. Tony watches every move with a bit of surprise because he could have sworn the other man was nothing but relaxed this whole time.

“Hm. Well, the good news is – it definitely worked. The bad news is, you also kinda…snapped yourself right along with them.”

Snapped himself…wait. _Did he_?! The moments after his snap are a bit of a blur. He vaguely remembers Peter and Harley talking to him, holding him…he remembers the pain and the unbearable heat - and then he woke up here. Whatever happened in-between is a void that only makes his brain hurt when trying to clear it.

Even if he disappeared along with Thanos then ending up in this reality still doesn’t make sense. How would that even work?! He signs it for good measure, noticing his other self’s nervous tap of fingers against the edge of the armchair afterwards.

“Courtesy of the Soul stone. What?!” he frowns at Tony’s rapidly deepening confusion. “What did you think you were doing to Thanos? Killing him? Naaah. The snap doesn’t kill anyone. It _absorbs_ them. Again, the courtesy and sole purpose of the Soul stone…which you apparently had no idea about. _Huh_ …goes to show how little it takes to spin a parallel reality onto a completely different path,” he mumbles.

Tony vehemently shakes his head and leans forward. ‘You think the snapped people get sucked into the Soul stone?’

“Oh I don’t _think_ that, I know that for a fucking fact! The Soul stone has its own little dimension within it, where it stores the souls offered to it…or the ones it takes. The Soul world, very imaginative name, I know. So when you snapped Thanos and his bitchass army out of existence, they were… _stored_ inside the Soul stone. That’s how it works. That’s what happened to you as well. So…when _I_ snapped my fingers here to undo _your_ snap…come on, do I really have to explain it like you’re five?! You popped back in here along with Thanos because your…soul or whatever was carried back over here with the stone, when you graciously returned them all to us.”

“What?!” Tony blurts out, completely flabbergasted by science for the first time since he could tie his shoes.

“Ah, so you _can_ speak…you just…don’t. Fuck. I probably don’t even wanna know what’s that about, do I? Yeah, I don’t. Anyway, this is how you got here. The Soul stone carried your ass over,” he explains but Tony is already shaking his head.

‘Our Infinity stones were destroyed. If the snap and the Soul stone works the way you described, then we wouldn’t have been able to undo Thanos’s snap at all!’

“ _Thanos’s_ snap? _Fuck_! Another thing I don’t wanna know, isn’t it?!”

‘Your logic doesn’t make sense.’

“Heeey now, you’re basically saying _your_ logic doesn’t make sense. Thankfully for both of us, it _does_. In _both_ our cases. Yeah, if the Soul stone was destroyed then you obviously wouldn’t be able to unsnap anyone who was previously taken into the Soul world. Duh!”

‘Exactly, so logically – you are wrong.’

“Uhhh, nope. Logically, if you did unsnap some people then the Soul stone couldn’t have been destroyed.”

“Oh.”

That…actually makes sense. Only it doesn’t! Because the stone was destroyed! All of the stones were destroyed!

“Yeah, _oh_. Lemme guess, someone destroyed the Infinity stones with the gauntlet?”

‘Thanos did.’

“I see…sucks to be him then. Turns out, you can’t destroy the Soul stone that way. We uh…let’s just say we tested that theory. For science. The Soul stone can only be destroyed from within. Whatever the fuck that means. The Power stone can’t even destroy it and the gauntlet is just combining the stones’ powers so…he didn’t destroy the stone. If he tried, then the stone simply disappeared…returned to the Soul world to be more specific.”

Tony blinks at him, his head starting to spin on top of hurting with all the science.

“That’s the tricky thing about that damn fucking pebble. You can’t just find nor destroy something that hides within _itself_. Fucking. Ridiculous.”

He feels like punching himself in the face. Not punching the other him in the face, just himself. It never occurred to him – to confirm what the Thanos killing squad said. What _Thanos told them_!

They never confirmed all the stones were destroyed. Fucking hell…they never confirmed ANY of the stones were destroyed, they just _assumed_ they were because Thanos didn’t have them! What. The. Fuck?!

“O-kaaaay. I see this is blowing your mind already so…more whiskey?”

Tony shakes his head and raises his shaking hands up to sign another question – but what would it be? There’s too many and his misfiring brain can’t decide on what it needs to know first.

In the end, he settles for one that could explain everything.

‘What happened in here?’

The other Tony ceases the nervous tapping of his fingers and his walls are suddenly all up, expression closed off and body tensing. It’s quite the display, one Tony only remembers through his own execution but had never seen it from an outsider’s point of view.

Clearly, that was the right question to ask because Tony only ever initiates this walled-off, neutral mask when he really doesn’t want to deal with something.

“That’s uh…damn long story,” he whispers, a notable contrast to his previous fake but still expertly believable snarky and care-free attitude.

Tony sits back and shrugs. ‘I’ve got time.’

“Do you?” he immediately replies, a lopsided grin cracking his façade. “That’s what I used to think. That I’ve got all the fucking time in the world,” he chuckles but it comes out more like a choked whine than anything. “And then Loki opened up a fucking portal in the sky and…I’m fairly sure you know how that went,” he narrows his eyes at Tony. “You know your version of that party, one I’m kinda curious about myself. What you probably _don’t_ know, is how that day ended for _us_.”

Right. This is the universe where two Steve’s had a showdown in the corridor and where Loki ended up running away with the Tesseract. _Shit_!

“Yeah, you’re getting it. You guys were pretty stealthy with your little heist and really, the stones only ever left our reality for a moment before they were returned…but those ten minutes you spent hunting them down? Those managed to fuck with our reality in ways neither one of us can understand. Yet. You were confused by waking up in the Tower, your reaction to JARVIS…fuck if I know what that was about and the mention of a Thanos snap? Yeah, we’ve got some catching up to do.”

Of course their actions messed with this timeline…but to what extent, exactly?! Loki stealing the damn cube, that’s a major fuckery right there but how could it have ended up with the Tower still being relevant, with JARVIS not succumbing to Ultron, with…oh.

 _Oh_.

Tony’s still somewhat hazy memory allows him to recall one particular image, from the battle that should technically be still fresh on his mind but for some reason it’s not.

In their final stand, they fought this universe’s Thanos. One without the gauntlet, without the Power stone…one yet to dive on the path of ultimate destruction in this reality. It must have been a version of him from earlier years, much earlier than 2019 – which is the here and now.

That version of Thanos waltzed into their reality with an armful of body-parts he dropped down for them to see, the carnage still fresh on his armor and skin.

The Avengers from this reality.

Forget Loki getting away… _they_ made _this_ Thanos drop by here and _kill all the Avengers_! That’s _their_ fault! That…fucking bloodbath, that’s on _them_!

“Before you start connecting dots and panicking over the results…I think it would be better to…see for ourselves.”

Tony locks his gaze with the other him…one that _should_ be dead as well. Shouldn’t he? Tony saw the bodies, the limbs, the blood…could anyone survive that? _Did_ anyone survive?

‘What do you mean?’

“There’s a way,” he starts and the constipated look is one of many telling signs of how not happy he is with whatever he’s about to propose. “For me to show you and for you to show me…what _exactly_ happened. Here, and there.”

Show…of course!

‘BARF?’

He frowns. “Wh…what?”

‘Using BARF?’

“JARVIS?” his frown deepens.

“ _You are indeed interpreting that correctly, Sir_.”

“Wha – seriously?! Barf…hooooow do you use barf like this?! Are you sure his brain is 100%, J?!”

Tony takes a second to be suspicious about the seemingly usual exchange between them – seemingly, because Tony doesn’t remember JARVIS being able to see his thoughts. Predict some of his wishes or actions through sheer experience? Yes. Knowing how this Tony was interpreting his signing? That’s not right. Sure, JARVIS was probably translating through the radio…which the other him doesn’t seem to wear. And if JARVIS was translating, there would be no need for interpretation. 

With his turn to frown, he moves past this for now and explains instead. ‘Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing.’

“Fucking hell, how are these words even in the ASL?! And no, that’s…no. Not what I meant. You got around to use that somehow? Huh. Never mind that, you gotta work on the acronym.”

Tony rolls his eyes and signs for him to finally get to the point.

“Right…well, this should partially answer one of your first questions. We can show each other what happened since…let’s say, that one fun day in April 2012…because great minds think alike and in our case it’s now kinda literal.”

He _really_ wants to know what happened here now, because there’s no way he would ever get this cryptic.

“Hm, I’m not being cryptic, I’m mentally preparing myself to either fight you off or pick you up from a panic attack. Not sure which scares me more.”

‘Why would you-‘

Tony halts his signing and stares at his strange reflection, now sporting a partially guilty expression.

Did he say that out loud before? His brain to mouth filter had gotten really good since Siberia so that’s unlikely.

“You didn’t say it out loud. Before or now. Can’t fucking wait to know what Siberia’s about,” the other Tony mutters. “So…don’t panic and don’t kill me? But I can kinda tell what you’re thinking – you’re very loud with it by the way. It’s not your fault, you got no idea what you’re doing yet but seriously, I wasn’t trying to sneak a peek on purpose! Your thoughts are just all over the place!”

Great. Now his apparently crazy other-self is rambling about utter nonsense.

_You don’t wanna listen to me rambling? No problem, you’re not the only one who doesn’t have to speak out loud, you know?_

Tony widens his eyes, blinking between the other man’s still lips and the glinting sunglasses.

 _This is how loud your thinking is in my head so…yeah. No killing then, right? Straight to panicking…fuck_.

‘Hearing a voice in my head can do that!’ he signs in a messy flails of his hands and glares at the other him, willing his heart to calm down and his brain to start sciencing this all up.

It does.

His rapidly beating heart _does_ calm down the instant and his brain immediately provides him with the answer, as if it were there all along.

 _Extremis cyber wireless interface_.

What is that even supposed to mean?!

“Damn, you’re learning quick….well, you’re me after all. Anyway…this is how. How we can share our past, how we can communicate…how you’re still alive.”

 _Extremis_ , he thinks, not bothering to spell it out with signs or speak it out loud. _That’s not how Extremis works_!

“It didn’t – then I made a couple tweaks here and there and voilà,” he grins. “You’re basically in dev mode right now…trust me, waking up to Extremis in full effect? That’s one hell of an awakening and I thought you’d have one regardless of a fucking cyber beacon in your brain, randomly connecting to every cell phone in a twenty-mile radius.”

Tony brings up his right hand, studying the fading scars.

“That’s…probably not going to smooth out anytime soon. The regenerative properties are through the roof, but there are things even Extremis can’t deal with. Scars being one thing,” he catches onto Tony’s questioning look, his chin travelling down to point to the left side of his shoulder where the giant scar is emerging from and up his face.

It’s a good thing he’s sitting down already…he would have crumbled underneath all this information by now. His brain is rattled and a bit hazy…but the more he focuses, the more he can tell it’s got nothing to do with his ordeal and everything to do with this whole Extremis thing.

His suspiciously painless body; the science popping out in his head like a fucking Wikipedia…an enhanced version of this anyway; the nonverbal communication with JARVIS and with…he’s hearing all this, isn’t he?

“As I said,” he sighs, “you’re very loud about it. JARVIS doesn’t like to intrude either but it’s getting through to him too. Don’t worry, it’s not making it past the Tower, although the toaster AI downstairs might be getting traumatized.”

“ _It’s in sleep mode_ ,” JARVIS supplies.

“Oh good! No need for another toasterpocalypse. So…you up for a test-drive? The Memory Lane is a shit road and something tells me we are going to need more alcohol than is currently up here afterwards…but I think it’s our best option. To _understand._ ”

He hates his own logic sometimes. Whatever his alter ego is suggesting is likely going to pile up on top of his shit pile of traumatizing stuff and memories…speaking of which, other-him is up for quite a dose himself.

At the end of the day, if they can somehow share all that without spending the next year talking about it, it makes sense to bear with it. He needs to know where he really is, what happened here, and it’s only fair for this Tony to know the same regarding the reality that so drastically changed theirs.

Then, and only then, they can move on to…whatever comes next.

‘How do we…asdfahsdjfhald?’ he flails his hands, not sure how to put it to words.

“It’s…too easy, actually. Sit back, relax and let yours truly inside your head. Rhyme not intended. It…will be a bit much at first. I will try to let it flow as slow as I can but still, it’s a bit disturbing.”

Fucking perfect. The last person to mess with his head was Maximoff and that turned out _great_!

“Ohhhhkay…you’re just giving me horrifying spoilers now. Let’s do this before I decide I’m better off _not_ knowing,” he visibly shudders and with an unsteady hand, he removes the stylish sunglasses.

Instead of two familiar, hazel eyes, he’s met with dark, metallic octagons, their sharp edges glittering in a faded shade of blue, not unlike the glow of his former arc reactor.

“Ready?”

He shakes his head no, but signs ‘yes’ anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: We'll dive long and deep into the parallel versions of things post Avengers 2012. Buckle up, y'all.


	2. 2012 - Battle of New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony experiences the PU!Tony's version of events post-New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! ^^ Thank you for all your feedback! Now strap in for the ride down the ParallelUniverse timeline, starting with Loki's little disappearing act. The upcoming chapters are all going to deal with the post-Avengers(2012) AU, as it is being 'shown' to our Tony through the Extremis / while the other Tony enjoys (not) the MCU near-canon. Poor him. Actually, poor _them_ *grins*
> 
> Did I mention how I missed writing with Tony as POV? With him actually talking and stuff? God...I might have gone overboard with the AU chapters just for that reason alone, sorry not sorry ^^ Also, I will never miss the opportunity to make the Avengers act like a team, because there's never enough 'Avengers live in the Tower together and actually are a TEAM' fix-its. Never. Enough.
> 
> Enjoy! <3
> 
> Quick rant/disclaimer: Time-travel in any shape or form is the worst trope in existence and I hate everything about it with burning passion because it rarely makes any sense and destroys any plot like it's made of soft butter. The Endgame version of it is...somewhat acceptable in terms of 'how it works' logic but still throws the plot logic down the garbage disposal. The INFINITY WAR plot. My favorite movie in the MCU since Winter Soldier. Unforgivable! :D Like, you can't make Stephen Brainy AF Strange argue that he cannot destroy the Time Stone because it's important for the future of their reality in terms of protection and yaddy yadda - and that's why the whole end of the movie plays out the way it did - only to then let us watch Thanos DESTROY THE TIME STONE along with all the stones within 20 minutes of Endgame. So...did he not see that in any of the 14 million visions he had? That Thanos destroys the stones anyway so why not destroy it first so there's no way for him to ever get it or bring the Soul Stone - or any other stone! - back into existence with it which is why Thanos wins in the first place and why everyone needs to wait for 5 years before embarking into another reality to heist the stones which is TOTALLY not going to be a problem for any future MCU movie/series ever? (because hey, let's borrow those stones some more, we gots the technology!) Endgame pls...
> 
> TLDR, canon logic sucks and I can't fix it :"D So I'm probably gonna make it even worse. Please kindly disregard all time-travel related stuff right along with why it was even neccessary to introduce it instead of...literally ANYTHING else. It's canon-compliant non-logic and I hate every minute spent trying to make it sound plausible in this fic :D Like, my soul is dying inside, every time.

“Loki!” Thor booms into the chaos.

“Are you okay?”

“Did that just fucking happen?!” Tony ignores Pierce’s question, scrambling to his wobbly feet. That’s twice, just today, twice!

Damn…ticking time bomb inside his chest, that’s what it is! He can deal with the arc reactor acting up later though because they’ve got something _so_ much worse on their hands. Never mind that Loki-shaped hole in his marble floor upstairs – the more disconcerting is the Loki-shaped _air_ next to Thor right here!

“Did you seriously just let him get away with the… _the thing_?!”

“He slipped past us all during the commotion, like the trickster he is,” Thor sighs and looks rather disturbed by the fact.

“Do we have eyes on the Scepter? I swear to god if he got away with both of these relics of ultimate fuckery, I will seriously hurt somebody. Namely myself – banging my forehead against the nearest desk!”

“ _I…do believe Captain Rogers is securely in possession of the Scepter on the fifth floor hallway, Sir_.”

“Good. That’s something at least,” he shakes his head, noting down JARVIS’s strange undertone…something’s still fishy in here. Wait, why does Steve have it and what’s he doing on the fifth floor?!

“ _I’m afraid he is currently incapacitated though, as a result of a…recent scuffle_ ,” JARVIS reads his mind as usual and provides a quick answer.

“A scu-...alright. Thor, you’re with me. You, stay here,” he waves at the SHIELD operatives. “You too, big guy,” he passes by the apologetic looking Hulk.

“Hulk hate stairs.”

“Yeah, buddy, don’t worry about it,” Tony tiptoes over the rubble. “I will upgrade the elevator to Hulk-size, how about that?”

Hulk gives him a pleased smile and kicks at the wall and door remains.

“O…kaaay. Point Break!” he nods at Thor to follow and they take the elevator up to the fifth floor, finding a big supersoldier splat in the corridor. “J?” Tony prompts the AI, kneeling down to check on him.

“ _He was knocked unconscious and should be waking up soon, no major or minor injury sustained._ ”

“Thank you. Steve?” he prods at the unmoving shoulder with one hand and grabs the discarded Scepter with the other.

Knocked unconscious? By what, a damn truck?! This guy can take a punch, alright?! He can also wear this ridiculous uniform in ways that should be illegal for something so tacky. That thing is _at least_ two sizes too small for that ass!

He tears his eyes off of Cap’s ass and holds up the Scepter. “Here, take the Stick of Destiny, will ya?” 

“I should promptly return to Asgard with it then and warn my father of Loki’s doing,” Thor takes it, just as a low whine escapes the waking supersoldier. “SHIELDBROTHER! How do you fare?!” he all but yells with his booming voice and squats down next to Tony, patting Steve’s back.

“Uuuuuughhh,” Steve groans, rolling over onto his back, squinting at them. “Wha’ hap’nd?”

“You don’t wanna know – but don’t worry. Nobody kissed you. Well, aside from _the floor_ ,” Tony waves at the ground and looks at Thor. “We’re good here, Point Break. Better take that thing to Asgard, pronto, before someone decides to steal it too.”

Thor nods, standing up.

“And hey, don’t be a stranger. Stop by for that shawarma or…coffee. Whatever. Keep us in the loop, yeah?”

“I shall return as soon as I can, hopefully with more news of my brother,” Thor agrees and a moment later, he’s engulfed by a colorful flash of light and disappears with it.

This flashy, interplanetary taxi service is pretty neat. He’s gonna have to look into that.

“You good?” he turns his attention back to the slightly stunned soldier.

“I…don’t know,” Steve frowns.

“Wanna drop by the hospital then?”

“What? No…no that’s…I’m fine. Just…I’m not really sure what just happened, to be honest.”

Tony chuckles, helping Steve up as he moves to stand. “You and me both. Loki got away with the Cube.”

“What?!”

“Yep. I’m guessing he made a move to get the stick back while he was at it?”

“I thought so too, but…never mind. I…,” he starts, looking around like a lost puppy.

To be fair, he’s got the right to look as lost as he wants. Tony’s inner madman slash science guy would definitely love to wake up in the future but the rest of his brain would most definitely not. Few days’ vacation in the 2090’s? Sure. Waking up to live the rest of his life there? Hell no. Nope.

“Hey, it’s fine. We could all use a break right abooooout,” he drawls out, checking his non-existent watch, “… _now_. Why don’t you head back up to the penthouse? I’ll deal with SHIELD, get Bruce, Natasha and the bird guy and we can order in some food and attack the bar. Sounds like a plan?”

Steve nods, a bit absentmindedly for Tony’s liking. “But…the city? We should help with the - ”

“JARVIS?” Tony beams at the nearest camera.

“ _Already on it, Captain Rogers. I took the liberty to call in extra emergency services from across the state as well as clean-up crews_.”

“See? J’s got it in his capable, imaginary hands. You sure you don’t want hands, J? Head, torso, legs – the whole body package!”

“ _While I do appreciate the offer, I would rather remain in the realm of the non-physical, Sir. So far, I have not been impressed with the so-called advantages of body parts. This is much more convenient_.”

“Tell me about it,” Tony chuckles. “Anytime you wanna switch, just let me know.”

Steve’s confused expression at least cracks with something akin to amusement at that and he makes no further protests when Tony stuffs him into an elevator and sends him upstairs.

***

Few hours later, they are chilling in the trashed lounge of the penthouse, stuffed with shawarma and a variety of drinks. Pepper and Rhodey eventually join their mostly silent reverie and Fury keeps calling every half an hour to update them on the situation.

Thankfully, there’s no situation to talk about anymore. The portal is gone, the aliens are dead and all that’s left to deal with is damage control.

“ _Sir, I believe your assistance is needed in the lab_ ,” JARVIS cuts into their laid back conversation about Fury’s leather kink – him and Bird Brain are going to get along _great_ , in the worst way possible; Tony can already tell.

“Can it wait?”

“ _I’m afraid it needs your immediate attention_.”

So much for chilling. “Don’t wait up, kids,” he tells the others as he stands. “Feel free to crash in any one of the guest rooms when you’re up for calling it a night. Pep?”

“I’ll show everyone around. I’m very proud of my twelve percent here, after all,” she teases him with a playful smile.

“Never gonna hear the end of that, am I?” he sighs and steals a kiss from her on his way out.

“Well, everything is negotiable, Mr. Stark,” she whispers and Tony really hopes whatever lab emergency JARVIS has downstairs is not going to take too long.

“Hold that thought,” he winks and takes the elevator down to the lab. “Alrighty, J. Hit me. Is the power source holding steady? Structural damage? Pesky surviving aliens somewhere?”

“ _I have gathered some…disturbing footage that you should watch before making any speculations. When I say disturbing, I do believe your interpretation will be more along the lines of – intriguing_.”

“Ugh…intriguing footage? That needs my immediate attention? You’re just messing with me now, right?” he rolls his eyes and moves to his desk anyway, JARVIS already firing up the screens.

“ _I would never_ ,” he replies, the sarcasm oozing from the sentence in spades. Like father, like AI…if anything, it’s Tony’s own fault. “ _This however…I am not quite certain what to make out of this any more than Captain Rogers was_.”

“Fine. Show me what you got.”

JARVIS does. Tony watches it once, twice…ten times. Then he watches it back to back. Then he decides the holo-screens are not large enough, so he projects it onto the entire wall. Then he enhances the video, zooms in, clears the audio, ramps up the volume…until finally, his brain all but implodes in on itself.

***

In the morning, once he’s 100% sure the footage is real and at least 10% sure about what the fuck is going on, he invites the team over and plays it for them.

“What the hell are we looking at?” Clint blurts out after the third re-watch. Him and Natasha have their pro-spy poker face on, Bruce’s eyebrows are hitting the ceiling and Steve…actually looks the least confused by what they’re watching.

Tony clears his throat and points at the first screen, like a teacher in front of a classroom. “Well…this here would be the scene of Loki’s unfortunate escape and this,” he moves on to the second screen, “this, ladies and gentlemen, is a Steve on Steve action on the fifth floor. Make of that what you will.”

The silence starts getting awkward after about five minutes while the footage keeps on looping and everyone keeps on staring at it.

“Soooo, any questions?” Tony clasps his hands and sits up on the workbench with a little jump.

“You…fought _yourself_ over the Scepter and didn’t even mention it?” Bruce asks, sending a pained grimace Steve’s way.

“I wasn’t sure it actually happened,” Steve explains, folding his arms defensively. “I thought it was Loki but then…” he trails off.

“ _Is_ that Loki?” Natasha nods at the second screen, her brows doing some dangerous twitchy movements above her eyes.

“Nope,” Tony shakes his head, all too confident in the statement. “Check the time stamps. By the time Loki yoinked the cube in the lobby, the battle of Steve’s was already commencing. If that’s not enough proof for you, check the – wait for it – third screen!” he dramatically waves his arm to another screen coming alive behind him and JARVIS plays the final piece of the puzzle for them.

“That’s uh…,” Bruce starts but ends up doing a double-take and just leaves it at that.

“That, my dears, is _a_ Steve, taking the elevator down with the SHIELD guys escorting the Scepter. _That_ , is _a_ Steve being given said Scepter by the SHIELD agents and then walking out with it on the fifth floor like Bruce fucking Willis walking away from an explosion. _And that_ – that is _our_ Steve, meeting him in there for the epic fight, after he got lost on his way down from the penthouse – montage of that on demand, with Benny Hill music and everything. So…that’s a resounding no. That’s not Loki. That’s…Steve,” he shrugs and gives them a wide grin.

“How - ”

“Ah!” Tony raises his palm, stopping Bruce’s question. “Not finished yet. See, here we’ve got two Steve’s. Moving back to the first screen, we’ve got – ta da~! Two _Tony’s_!” he exclaims, zooming in on himself and…the _other_ him. “That’s like…too much of me in one room.”

“You don’t say,” Natasha stares at the frozen image.

“Nah!” he stops Bruce mid-inhale. “Still not done yet! Get ready for…the double dose of Hulk!” he announces, and a fourth screen comes to life. “Now this was really difficult to dig up, but JARVIS is nothing if not thorough and as soon as he started seeing double on his security footage files, he borrowed the street’s security footage as well and whaddya know, he found more of this mind-bending, brain-melting and reason-defying phenomenon!”

Bruce opens his mouth and before speaking up, he first waits a couple seconds, giving Tony the opportunity to jump in again. “That doesn’t really look like the Hulk. I mean…it does, but…” he trails off, coming closer to the screen as if physically zooming in would help him make sense of it.

“Oh we don’t really have to play ‘find five differences’ to know that some are not quite like the others here. The Steve’s are…eeeh. Similar enough to make your head spin the first few times but after careful examination – and did I mention I’ve been up since two in the morning…three days ago? I have, so after bathing in coffee, I conducted a very thorough examination and determined that Specimen Steve B over there looks different enough to be noticeable. Hell, that guy looks like he could spring a full beard and…no offence, Cap, your baby face is not quite there yet.”

“You haven’t slept in three days?!” is Steve’s reaction. Somehow, the man out of time is taking this in more strides than all of them combined.

“Yep, keep up, Capsicle. It gets even better! Not in my case,” he waves at the lobby footage. “Specimen Tony B looks like he hadn’t slept in three _years_ , there’s the graying hair and more wrinkles than I remember counting a week ago, and then he gets totaled by our Hulk. As funny as it looks and sounds, that had to _hurt_. Finally, Specimen Hulk B is…how should I put it. This guy looks like you, Brucie-bear, but on green, Schwarzenegger kinda steroids.”

“Did you just call me _Brucie-bear_?” he raises his eyebrows to the stratosphere.

“Wait, so…it’s just you three. We’ve got no doppelgangers? That’s just all kinds of unfair!” Bird Brain whines and is promptly elbowed by Natasha.

“I was really hoping you would be more weirded out by this. My expectations have been _horribly_ subverted,” Tony sighs and finishes half a cup of his coffee in one gulp.

“I’m plenty weirded out, man! Changing subjects and diverting the conversation is my only coping mechanism, don’t judge.”

“For once, he’s actually serious,” Natasha adds, not failing to elbow the dude again. “Something tells me this is _still_ not everything.”

Tony applauds her, sending her a thumbs up afterwards. “You…itsy bitsy spy, you. You’ve got me all figured out of course. Except for that part about…textbook narcissism and all that. Anyway! God said: let there be high-definition security video footage! And I said: let that be accompanied by high quality sound as well! So…the lobby sound is all over the place, not interesting. Hulk B just runs up the street and disappears down the block – also not interesting. The Steve B sound though? Priceless!”

JARVIS plays the fight scene with volume up and that finally seems to get some attention from the supersoldier.

“Play that bit again?” he whispers and JARVIS grants his wish.

 _“Where did you get this?”_ their Steve is asking on the screen, locked in a wrestling match with Steve B. 

Steve B chokes in his hold, blurting out: _“Bucky... is... alive!”_

_“What?”_

The distraction is enough for Steve B to get the upper hand and knock their Steve unconscious. _“That's America's ass,”_ he looks down, grabs the Scepter and runs off.

“What…the actual fuck,” Clint blinks at the screen. “And who the hell is Bucky? He owned your ass with just that one co - “ he doesn’t finish the sentence, with Natasha locking him into a surprise choke hold.

“Bucky. As in Bucky Barnes? The Howling Commandos? No? What the hell guys, am I the only one who read the comics?!” Tony bursts out, squinting at Steve. “Pretend I didn’t just say that. Before we address that elephant in the room, let’s rewind a bit. You think this was it, Nat? Nah uh, this is a double fucking whamy! Elevator time, JARVIS, if you please?” he prompts the AI and the scene in the elevator with Steve B plays out.

“ _Captain. I thought you were coordinating search and rescue_?” Sitwell looks at Steve B like a naughty kid caught stealing cookies.

_“Change of plans.”_

_“Hey, Cap.”_

_“Rumlow. I just got a call from the Secretary. I'm gonna be running point on the scepter.”_

_“Sir? I don't understand.”_

_“We got word there may be an attempt to steal it.”_

_“Sorry, Cap. I can't give you the scepter_ ,” Sitwell replies and there’s a dangerous undertone in his voice. A warning. “ _I'm gonna have to call the Director.”_

“ _That's okay. Trust me_ ,” Steve B nods and leans toward Sitwell. “ _Hail Hydra_.”

Sitwell hands over the Scepter and Steve B walks out, just like that.

“Did he just say - ”

“Hail Hydra?!” Steve finishes before Natasha could.

“Yeah yeah yeah, not the interesting part,” Tony shakes his head, still not able to wipe his grin off. He should probably stop chugging down the coffee. “He says that…and the _elevator full of **SHIELD** agents_ gives him the Scepter.”

He lets that sink in for a moment, his eyes purposefully scanning over Clint’s and Natasha’s reaction. He took a risk inviting them down here and showing them this particular segment. If Rumlow, Sitwell and fucking Alexander ‘Mr. Secretary’ Pierce are all HYDRA, then who knows how many other _SHIELD_ agents are as well.

Might as well be Fury, Legolas, the Spider – or all of them.

“Holy shit…,” Clint curses, exchanging an equally suspicious look with Natasha.

“Yeah. This…this needs more vodka, less screens,” Natasha waves at the multiple holo-screens in disdain.

“What do you make of this, Tony?” Bruce turns from the non-verbally communicating spies and locks his gaze with him.

“I’ve got a theory that I reeeally need to sleep on first. For a summarized version without the mind-blowing science, let’s just say…we had visitors yesterday. Other than the alien invasion army. Other than Loki. _We_ visited _ourselves_. Not really we as in _us_ …that bit is complicated. One thing’s for sure; the other us…Team B…they were after the Scepter, the Cube and maybe something else as well. Tony B done goofed with the Cube, Hulk B was after something and maybe got it and Steve B got the Scepter.”

“Don’t _we_ have the Scepter? Thor took it to Asgard, right?” Bruce frowns at him.

“Yes! Which reminds me!” he flicks his fingers and JARVIS lets the hallway footage run some more. “Not even a minute after Steve B took the Scepter…we’ve got _Steve C_ in here, returning it,” Tony points at another figure emerging from down the hall, wearing a strange white suit and placing the Scepter back exactly where it was before. “Steve C is actually B, if my insane theory is correct…seriously. Don’t worry about the science, it’s making _my_ brain hurt. Point is…our visitors gave us a lot to think about, whatever their motives, whatever their origin.”

“HYDRA is still a thing,” Clint sums it up.

“Worse, it infiltrated SHIELD – who knows how long ago,” Natasha adds onto it.

If either one of them is a HYDRA agent, they are way too good for Tony to tell. Their reaction so far is nothing short of shock and horror at the revelation, so he’s ready to give them the benefit of the doubt.

For now.

“Bucky’s alive,” Steve whispers, his face scrunched up in a painful grimace.

“And…some….future? Other reality _us_ came here to borrow the two most powerful pieces of tech on this planet,” Bruce finishes the summary, with a sprinkle of his own genius. “Only to return the Scepter a minute later?”

“Time is relative, Brucie-bear. If I’m right, they actually could have been in the possession of the Scepter for years before returning it to us and we’d never know.”

“Makes sense,” he nods.

“It does?!” Bird Brain looks between them.

“If the multiverse theory is what you’ve got in mind,” Bruce nods at Tony, “and we allow ourselves to believe the uh…team B somehow figured out how to cross over into other realities or parallel universes without being torn to shreds or getting lost along the way…then yes. It makes sense. They could take the Scepter, bring it back to their reality, do whatever with it for as long as they wanted and then, using the same theoretical pathway through space and time, they could return it to nearly the exact moment they took it from.”

“I love your brain,” Tony gives him a goofy smile and turns to their confused teammates. “As I said, me…and Brucie-bear over here will tackle the science and JARVIS will try to dig up more stuff about the slippery Hulk B. In the meantime, I think we’ve got another Avenging mission for us to take on.”

“HYDRA…you think we can take on HYDRA?!” Clint asks, continuing his nonverbal communication with Natasha. “Obviously the dudes in the elevator are all HYDRA. You pointed out Pierce is also HYDRA. What you didn’t mention is, that as far as you know, me and Nat might as well be HYDRA too. See what I mean?! How do we know who is really SHIELD and who’s HYDRA? There can be an entire sleeper cell within SHIELD that we will have no way of uncovering until…until major shit goes down.”

“Hold that thought,” Tony agrees, eyes flicking over to the suspiciously silent supersoldier. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Cap?”

Steve looks him in the eyes, somehow looking a lot younger and vulnerable than ever. “If Bucky is alive, HYDRA must be behind it. They’ve got him…don’t they?”

Tony nods. “His body was never found…according to the search party’s report. Guess who the members of the search party became some years later?”

“SHIELD agents,” Steve follows through with his train of thought.

“Barnes was captured by HYDRA at one point, supposedly experimented on…would explain how he could still be alive after all these years and possibly back at HYDRA’s nasty ass hands, being subjected to…who knows what.”

“Shit, man…what are we gonna do? We’re just five weirdos with a fancy team name – they’ve got spies and probably governments behind them! If Fury is HYDRA? We’re already fucked…that guy knows everything about us. _Everything_!” Clint gasps, his coping mechanism all but failing and revealing a highly disturbed and almost panicky man. This is not Clint – the agent, this is Clint – just the guy.

Instead of more elbows to the side, Natasha actually places a comforting hand on the archer’s bicep and looks over the rest of them with a piercing gaze, resting it on Tony. “Are _you_ thinking what I’m thinking?”

Tony grins, finally making up his mind about this whole situation. It’s a bit too much to take…aliens, powerful artifacts, unlikely teammates, trickster demi-Gods, Fury and his shady clandestine organization, Coulson…all that in a span of two days. Add the whole doppelganger heist team and Tony’s three different near-death experiences into the picture and he’s SO ready to fly his ass to Malibu and chill out on the beach for…forever.

He can do that – after his inner science-guy is satisfied with the doppelgangers and near-death thing and after they kick some serious HYDRA ass.

“Steve B might have unwittingly given us a golden opportunity,” he indulges Natasha in his base plan. “Those guys in the elevator? They all think _Steve_ is with them. As in Hail Hydra kinda Steve.”

“But…I’m not,” Steve frowns, little offended as well as confused.

“Of course _you’re_ not. Steve B probably wasn’t either, but he played them. He played them to get the Scepter and knew exactly how to do it…and they bought it,” Natasha smirks. “ _They_ think you are HYDRA. We already reported Steve was attacked by Loki in that hallway – which explains why he couldn’t deliver the prize to HYDRA’s waiting hands in the end. Perfect alibi.”

“Since we know Rumlow and Sitwell are with HYDRA, we can set up a plan and use that to our advantage – both to flush out all the HYDRA agents from SHIELD and to find out what’s happened to Barnes,” Tony continues. “And if that’s not good enough, I’ve still got this,” he takes the hacking device discarded on the table and flashes it in front of everyone. “See, I fully intended to take your words to heart,” he waves at Steve, “and forget about the SHIELD database I hacked yesterday. You and your…disappointed brows of doom and all that. Now…I’m thinking it might come in handy, wouldn’t you say?”

Steve’s expression softens for a moment, looking at Tony. He nods and then it’s no more confusion, no more vulnerability – it’s _let’s get down to fucking business_ Captain America face that slips on. “If there’s any chance those sons of bitches have Bucky, I’m ready to take them on, no matter what I gotta do.”

“Fucking hell, did Captain America just _curse_?!” Tony asks nobody in particular and holds Steve’s determined gaze.

Bruce clears his throat, taking a step to stand by Tony. “I uh…really would have preferred just the science bit and maybe a relaxing trip somewhere down to Peru…but the Hulk wouldn’t say no to smashing a few bad guys if need be,” he quirks his lips and Tony has to physically restrain himself from hugging the Doctor, announcing he’s definitely keeping him.

“SHIELD’s been our home for a long time. It’s our family, it took us in when nobody else would,” Natasha straightens up, exchanging more silent looks with Clint.

“HYDRA wanna mess with that? It’ll have to go through us first,” Clint nods, equaling the determination level rising in the atmosphere. “We’re your inside guys now, whatever you need, we can make it happen.”

“We’ll take them down. Whatever it takes,” Natasha agrees.

Tony looks around the room, the unlikely teammates suddenly feeling a lot less unlikely than yesterday. They are all so different on so many levels he thought it was ridiculous for Fury to suggest they work together as a team. Maybe the damn pirate was onto something all along. Maybe they _can_ be everything him and Coulson hoped they could be.

“Whatever it takes,” Tony nods and decides this is a train he might be willing to board after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Two words - Bleecker Street :3


	3. 2012 - The Ancient One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds his way to the doorstep of the New York Sanctum.

“ _The clean up finished yesterday, leaving the rest for heavy machinery and the crews in charge of mitigating the structural damages, once again supplied by Stark Industries. According to the CEO, Pepper Potts, the rebuilding will take up to two months and after that, the_ \- ”

“The fuck am I listening to, J? Put the music back on,” Tony groans, his brain emerging from the insane calculations for long enough to register the lack of metal and rock blasting through the speakers.

“ _Your chosen playlist repeated itself five times already. I was not sure how the neighbors would react to a sixth replay of Back to Black_.”

“Your neighbors are very grateful for that thinking!” Bruce yells from the other side of their lab divider.

“Pfft, fine. It’s not like I’m gonna argue with the strongest Avenger!” Tony yells back. “JARVIS? Play whatever my dearest science bro wants.”

“ _As you wish, Sir_.”

“Seriously?!” he groans the instant Vivaldi’s Four Seasons start playing.

“Heeey, you’re not gonna argue with the strongest Avenger, right?” Bruce peeks around the divider, his glasses a bit tilted and lab coat all messy.

“Whatever. I’m all done for the night anyway.”

“Really?” he frowns and fully steps into Tony’s clusterfuck of an area.

“Well…I think I found exactly what I wanted,” Tony sighs, closing the holo-screens and wheeling away from the table.

“You don’t look very happy about it.”

“If it actually works? I’ll be all too happy about it. Not sure about everyone else though.”

“Can’t be that bad,” he walks over, leaning against the now abandoned table.

“Super-regenerative, unstable and untested nanites with potentially illegal and volatile cybernetic enhancements built in?”

“O-kay. That does sound kinda bad.”

“On the other hand, surviving my own death for the second time sounds _good_. Also, not having a literal death plug inside my chest? That’s…yeah, I’m sold on that part. I haven’t been able to take a single deep breath since I’ve got this damn thing…you know what that’s like?! Fuck, I wasn’t an athlete or anything but now I can barely make it a block while running, before I’m a wheezing, vomiting mess by the curb!”

“So this is a pros and cons thing now, essentially.”

“Essentially. Pros – no death plug, all my lung capacity back and potential upgrades to the nanite tech that could be borderlining with steroid superpowers…could actually work really well with the suit. Anyway! Cons? One line of coding off and all of it can backfire; the current state of the tech is nothing if not underdeveloped, dangerous and will definitely kill me if I don’t implement it to work with my specific DNA structure…and let’s not forget the chances of Pepper dumping my ass while she’s beating me with her heels and chasing me down Central Park yelling for me not to do it are…astronomically high.”

“I take it she’s…not a fan of you being Iron Man?”

Tony shakes his head, running his hand over his chest absentmindedly. “It’s not that. Well…she’s not _thrilled_ to see me throwing myself at danger every other Tuesday, but she knows…she knows this is me now. God knows she stopped trying to change me decades ago, naaah. She’s too smart to hold out for something this impossible. The whole nanite thing? It’s called Extremis for a reason – it’s fucking _extreme_! Dangerous and invasive are two verbs that don’t even begin to cover it.”

“In other words, we should all be worried about this.”

“Worst case scenario? It kills me. Is it terrible that I don’t think that to be so terrible?”

“Uhhhh, yeah? Yes. Thinking of our own death as ‘meh, not so terrible’ is…bit not good, Tony.”

Oh. Tony forgot Bruce would have all the personal experience with that than anyone else he’s ever met. He said it himself – he _tried_. The Hulk wouldn’t let him and thank fuck for that. Bruce is amazing! Their little week of sciencing was more productive than Tony’s entire year so far!

He’s easy to like. Kind and smart, has a sense of humor, that’s a big one in Tony’s books. Knowing that this man, this precious being he often feels the need to wrap up in blankets and protect with extreme prejudice, was at one point in his life so low and done he actually tried killing himself?

 _That’s_ terrible. Knowing Tony’s not quite capable of applying the same logic to his own life is also pretty terrible. He’s never been good at not putting other people first. One of many bad habits he acquired as a kid and could never get rid of. Thanks for nothing, Howard.

But it’s not like he’s purposefully trying to kill himself, no. That’s not really his thing…suicide. Not that it never crossed his mind, what with all the shit he’s been through… _is_ going through. That’s just not him, though.

With Extremis, he’s trying to do the exact opposite, really. Save _himself_ , for once. Nobody else will see it that way, especially Pepper and he’s not ready to lose Pepper, not over something this… _selfish_.

Good ol’ textbook narcissist Tony Stark, right?

“Any news from Steve?”

“Your ability to change subjects is rivaling my own…I’m not sure how to feel about that,” he grins at Bruce. “So far so good. JARVIS is doing some subtle snooping around the deep and encrypted parts of the SHIELD servers, so we’re standing by for results. If he doesn’t find what we need, Birdbrain and Nat are already working on plan B. And if he does…then it’s Cap against Rumlow’s peanut brain. I like those chances.”

“Sounds like we’re on top of things,” he smiles with a tinge of cringe.

“For once we might be? Not sure about Thor.”

The Asgardian stopped by yesterday to check on things so they briefed him about the situation – which does seem to be handled for the time being. The same cannot be said about Thor’s escapee adopted brother. The trickster god all but disappeared off the face of this part of the universe the moment he stole the Cube.

That doesn’t bode well for…well, anyone. Mainly Asgard.

“I’d say we should help him too…but I wouldn’t even know where to begin when it comes to searching for someone in outter space.”

“Yeah, we’re not quite there yet,” Tony pats his shoulder and struts towards the exit. “Anyway, don’t wait up. I’ve got an errand to run. J will keep you company, right J?”

“ _Why of course, Sir. I have already put together a playlist I believe Doctor Banner will greatly enjoy_.”

“That’s definitely my cue to leave then,” Tony chuckles, noting Bruce’s beaming smile that he sends towards one of the ceiling cams.

He gets into the elevator and immediately switches into mission mode. The errand is not exactly what Bruce might think – or anyone, really, so it’s important he can slip unnoticed and unquestioned.

“JARVIS?”

“ _Coast is clear, Sir_.”

“Off we go then,” Tony nods and bolts to his room to change into something…inconspicuous. Jeans and a hoodie will do – for some reason, people have problems recognizing him on the streets if he’s not wearing one of his trademark suits. “Whaddya think?” he admires his attire choice in the mirror, wondering why he even has a set of clothes this casual. With most of his stuff in Malibu, this must have been JARVIS’s doing.

“ _Splendid – I hardly recognize you myself_.”

“Cheeky. Is the suit ready?” he asks, putting an earpiece into his left ear while adjusting the signal and volume for their radio connection on the nearby panel.

“ _It is on stand-by, estimated arrival time to target location is twenty seconds_.”

“Nice.”

“ _Take the side-elevator_ ,” JARVIS adds when Tony walks out of his room “ _Captain Rogers is on his way down to the lab_.”

“Alrighty,” Tony changes directions and within a minute he’s in the lobby and sneaking outside through the employee-only exit. “Radio silence, J.”

“ _Good luck, Sir_.”

Luck will have little to with this. He sets off into the busy, evening streets of New York, taking the route he memorized this morning.

JARVIS might still be working his way into SHIELD’s dirty little secrets but he’s been more than successful when it comes to the city CCTV footage.

It took a while before the files were available, following the battle and all that – the wait was worth it though. Few private security camera feeds from shops and apartments, and JARVIS was able to track Hulk B’s movements all the way to his supposed target.

Bleecker street.

Whatever caught the attention of team B over there is most definitely worth investigating. So he heads down to Greenwich Village until he’s standing in front of the 19th century building that Hulk B descended onto from the opposite apartment complex.

Tony could easily do the same – fire up the suit and get in through the roof, but he’s in a polite mood today and walks up, knocking on the front doors instead.

Before the third knock can land, the doors open, startling him shitless.

“Interesting,” a bald, monk lookin-ass woman stares at him, wide eyes and pale eyebrows scrunched in concern.

“Uhhh…hi,” Tony reboots after willing his heart to stop going million miles a second.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Stark?” she asks, quickly hiding both her surprise and concern behind a neutral façade.

So much for his perfect disguise. Seeing she’s not in for pleasantries or small talk, he gets straight to the point. “When the aliens attacked a while back, you got a particular visitor here – big, green, kinda angry guy? Mind telling me what he wanted?”

There’s an amused quirk to her lips as she steps aside a bit, revealing the vast lobby beyond. “He was looking for something – but you already knew that. I suppose…he wasn’t the only one searching for something that day?”

“He had a couple of buddies…sorry, who are you again?” he narrows his eyes at her.

“That…doesn’t have an easy answer. Perhaps,” she starts, trailing off for a moment, “perhaps we could talk over a cup of tea and…whiskey on the rocks?”

“Pffft, what are you, one of them fake psychics? You sure got the looks,” Tony scoffs, eyeing her even more suspiciously now. His favorite choice of drinks could be just a lucky guess, a simple coincidence – he stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago though. “Fine. Let’s talk…but no funny business. If this is your drug den or…torture dungeon, I will blast it to space and you along with it.”

“This is the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Mr. Stark,” she ignores his quip and gestures for him to enter.

“The _what_?!”

***

Tony always had a problem – multiple problems of course, but this one was one of his earliest that he can remember.

Asking questions.

Mom used to tell him the whole ‘curiosity killed the cat’ thing…and Tony quickly adopted the ‘satisfaction brought it back’ bit. Jarvis would try another, foreign version of the proverb that goes along the lines of ‘if you’re too curious you will get old faster’ – needless to say, that only encouraged his pre-pubescent self to continue with the questioning.

Howard wasn’t a big fan of proverbs – he stuck with cold-blooded pragmatism. Ask too many questions and eventually, you will not like the answer.

Every now and then, Tony is reminded of the truth behind that statement. Like right now, sitting in the library of the New York’s Sanctum and listening to the Ancient One’s tales of magic and artifacts so old and powerful they were created at the dawn of this universe.

He was ready to laugh in her face and get the hell out of this likely drug-fueled dream of a building, but her patient composure and no obvious signs of utter madness persuaded him to endure the mind-bending experience.

After all, the only reason he’s even here is because he’s following up on leads left behind by a team of Avenger doppelgangers from another reality. With that being a thing, magic and super-powerful stones of infinite power don’t sound as farfetched as he would have thought a few months ago.

The only problem is that his brain can deal with the messy parallel universe theory – it’s scientifically unlikely to be possible, but not _impossible_. With magic, his brain is officially at its wits end.

“So…Green B wanted to borrow the Green Trinket of Time? That’s it?” he asks after she’s done talking and notices, with narrowed eyes, that his whiskey glass seems to be refilling on its own.

Now that is one use of magic he’s not going to question.

“And the others were after the Space and Soul stone.”

“They were after the Cube and the Scepter.”

“Mere relics, capable of harnessing the stones’ powers.”

“Like that one?” he waves at the necklace thingie she wears.

“Precisely.”

“Why?”

The Ancient One sighs, sipping on her tea. “You heard me, but you did not listen.”

“Heeeey now, slow down, Ghandi. Infinity stones …infinitely powerful. Who wouldn’t want to bend time and space and reality or whatever. Sure, I get it. I get the appeal – what I don’t get is why go through this kinda trouble to get them. If the stones were created along with this universe then it’s safe to assume they were created along with _their_ universe as well. So why bother with inter-dimensional travel?”

“There was no other way.”

“What?” Tony blurts out.

“I can only assume they had no other options. Either their Infinity stones were beyond their reach or destroyed. At the same time, the stones must have been the only way to…do something. In their reality, which in fact should have been our future, getting the stones was worth doing anything – even robbing and ultimately altering the course of a parallel universe.”

“Finally, you talk some actual science,” Tony mutters while his brain chews on the information. If these pebbles are as powerful as she described them, he can only wonder what sort of catastrophe they had to be dealing with to need such power. “You said you’re in charge of this…Hogwarts thing. In charge of protecting this reality from magical mystical whatever forces and keeping that green pebble safe and sound where it is. So why the fuck would you just give it up to a random dude showing up on your rooftop in the middle of an alien attack?!”

“Because he gave it up first,” she whispers, her face contorting into a grimace.

“He…who?”

She sighs, vanishing the tea cup with just a wave of her hand. “This is a rather…complicated situation.”

“You don’t fucking say,” he scoffs, glaring at where the cup was just a moment ago.

“I can assure you, Mister Stark, if things went the way they were supposed to, you and I would have never even met. We would not be sitting here right now talking about magic and relics and parallel universes. Things are…already misplaced,” she looks down with a pained expression.

“Yeah, that’s what happens. Mess with time and it messes right back.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The stones were meant to be returned to the same exact moment they were taken away, which would erase - ”

“Uhuh, let me stop you right there, Bald Houdini. That’s not how it works. The moment these other guys landed in this universe was the moment they irreversibly affected it with their presence. Even if they could somehow return the stones to the exact – and I mean _exact_ moment that they took them from…and we both know that’s not really what happened…it still wouldn’t erase their actions leading up to that moment. In other words - ”

“Our reality would stay altered no matter what,” she finishes for him. “I must admit I did not take this angle into account when Doctor Banner presented his solution.”

“Neither did he, apparently. I better have some serious science one on one talk with him,” Tony mumbles. “Anyway…it can’t be _that_ bad. Right? So what, we weren’t supposed to meet? Big deal.”

“You can’t possibly believe that, not with your scientific insight. The consequences of their influence on our reality are already spreading through our timeline, shattering the former threads of what was supposed to happen, what could happen and what was never meant to be. The changes are resonating through the very essence of this reality, Mister Stark. You are already acting on what you have learnt and so am I. As insignificant as it may seem, this will have dire consequences for our future. So dire even the Time stone cannot yet comprehend them.”

Tony hates to admit it but she’s right. It’s the time travel 101 – step on a bug in the past and the newly created reality’s future will take a drastic turn.

If there’s one thing he hates more than magic, it’s probably time travel. It’s the source of never-ending headache, even for someone who can grasp the science behind it.

Tony can take a wild guess and assume their alternate counterparts were set on a detrimentally different journey right about now. Loki probably didn’t get away with the Cube, HYDRA probably got away with the Scepter…and his alter ego probably wasn’t on the path of potential self-destruction just to get rid of the arc reactor.

Everything they are doing right now is a direct result of their influence. They know about HYDRA and Barnes just because of Steve B’s actions. Thor is busy hunting his brother only because he was able to escape during the commotion caused by Tony B and that commotion was caused by Tony’s malfunctioning – or likely sabotaged – arc reactor, which was the last straw that is driving him towards dangerous means of self-perseverance now.

“How do you know we weren’t supposed to meet?” he asks anyway, her comment from before gnawing at him. Knowing they are set on a different path is an easy assumption to make but she sounded like she saw their future to begin with.

“I saw the future,” she deadpans, making Tony choke on the whiskey. “In a sense. Not quite the way you might be imagining of course. Time is fluid and ever-changing. One of the very _few_ perks of having the Time stone is that you can take a look ahead, see where the current path is leading you. It’s unreliable but it does serve many purposes thanks to which we can effectively protect this reality.”

“Did you foresee the alien attack? Because if you did, then both you and the stone suck at your job.”

“We cannot interfere with every threat this planet faces – especially since so many of them are coming from within. Wars, plagues…these are not our fights. We take care of the mystical – the threats that you cannot defeat with the usual methods, only with magic. I did foresee the attack and I also foresaw the Avengers rising to the challenge and defeating them – therefore, our interference was not necessary beyond protecting the Sanctum.”

Tony scoffs, shaking his head. “So you would only step in if we got our asses totally kicked? That’s some bullshit rules you’ve got there.”

“Perhaps. That is not for me to decide. Or at least I thought it is not…,” she trails off and Tony realizes that he’s not alone in being unsettled by her confusion. “The future of this reality is now a mystery to me. I could never see past my own demise, naturally…but now I almost cannot see anything and what I do see is messy and incomprehensible. The Time stone itself is no longer capable of making sense of what is to come. That…”

“That scares you,” Tony gulps and puts the whiskey glass down, pushing it away.

“As it should scare you. We have lost all the foresight we had – the threats I was preparing for are no longer a certainty, perhaps not even a possibility and if new threats arise, I might not be able to find out until it’s too late.”

“So that thing’s broken now?” he waves at the necklace.

“It’s…silent. Unsettlingly so. It still has its powers but because of the interference – or because of its journey beyond our universe, the Time stone is no longer capable of telling what will happen and what will not.”

“Oh well, I’m sure we can get by without using overpowered exploits like that.”

“Can we? The threat…the one the others were facing in their reality…I am not privy to what it was or would be since it would come after my time…now I’m not even sure about that anymore. That or my successor. He…the him from the other reality is behind their entire plan.”

“He’s the one you were talking about before? Gave up the stone first or whatever?”

“ _Or whatever_ is actually an accurate interpretation,” she gives him a tiny smirk. “Details weren’t discussed…but it’s the only reason I agreed to lend the stone to them. Because _he_ devised the plan. Because he must have seen it the same way I would have seen it, using the Time stone.”

“Sounds like he fucked up somehow,” he narrows his eyes at her.

“The stones were returned as promised – that wouldn’t have happened if they failed, so things must have worked out for _them_.”

“It’s _us_ you’re worried about.” 

“Naturally. It is our reality that might pay the price for their success, yes. Now that we have been thrown off-course, only time will tell if the change will benefit us more than harm us.”

“Time is kinda silent right now, you said so yourself.”

“Nevertheless, we must make the best of our situation. Now that we have been so coincidentally introduced, perhaps we can use that to our advantage and cooperate when necessary.”

“Oh yeah? What happened with the whole no-interference policy, hm?”

She shrugs, the smirk turning mischievous. “Times are changing. I feel it's the best to follow along."

"I can get behind that...and we are kinda dealing with something that would fall into your uh...magical mystical expertise anyway."

"Then we shall meet again, to discuss this alliance further. However, there is one thing we must preserve of the future that now ceased to exist."

"What's that?"

"My successor, the future Sorcerer Supreme...no matter what, we must not interfere with his journey. He is yet to join our ranks and it is pivotal that he will, one day, find his way to our doors."

"You're starting to sound like a sect now, should I be worried?"

"For us to have any future at all, he must become one of us."

"Yeeeeah, that's really sect-ish. Let's forget the guy then, wherever he is."

"For the time being, it will be for the best."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the feedback and kudos! <3<3<3 I will be adding tags along the way, as some might be a bit spoiler-ish, but if you think I'm missing something important to add in, please let me know. I am terrible with tags :"D
> 
> Next: Some well-deserved PU!Avengers chill...and...Bucky???


	4. 2012 - The Winter Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds he might like the whole team thing. Sans the part where HYDRA sends brainwashed assassins to kill him.

Tony saunters into the common floor kitchen, not really expecting to meet anyone in there at 4AM. He can blame it on his physically and emotionally exhausted brain that he forgot their entire team is made of people who are used to keeping really weird hours.

“Geez…you look like shit, man,” Clint greets him from where he’s sat on top of the counter.

“Good morning to you too, Birdbrain,” Tony rolls his eyes, not even trying to make the comeback sound at least a little bit annoyed.

He’s all out of strength and wits this week.

First he stumbles into Hogwarts, then he meets up with Killian about the whole Extremis thing only to get himself mixed up in his shady terrorist plan and with that taken care of, he throws himself right into the nuclear apocalypse that is his relationship with Pepper.

It was always a bit touch and go – although he could have sworn that things were going just fine lately. SI running smoothly, the Tower finally finished, plenty of time to spend with each other…maybe that’s where it started to go all kinds of wrong. The definite nail in the coffin was the lovely alien invasion, even Tony can figure that one out.

His recklessness on top of his now disturbingly reoccurring nightmares and his apparent obsession with Extremis flushed all of Tony’s making-up plans down the fucking toilet. The worst part is that Pepper _understands_. She knows him too well to expect him to behave any differently – and she’s supportive enough to make Tony wonder if she’s even real.

He’s probably being dramatic with the nuclear apocalypse thing…in the end, it’s just going to be a quiet ‘pop’ nobody might even notice. A peaceful ‘let’s be just friends again’ kinda break-up. Like…Czechoslovakia.

She loves him – and god knows he loves her, but if they don’t call it quits now they are going to drive each other nuts one day and he would rather not lose one of the so very few constants in his life, not if he can help it. She deserves to be happy – while not experiencing major heart attacks every other week while Tony’s busy throwing himself into the fray with his usual ‘attack’ policy.

It will hurt – for a time. It won’t hurt nearly as much as it would, eventually. After one too many fights and one too many sleepless nights.

“I’d tell you to go back to sleep…but I actually have some sliver of self-preservation left,” Bruce gives him a lopsided smile and pours him a cup of coffee.

“Not sure I would wanna argue with Hulk-daddy this early in the morning and with zero caffeine level in my bloodstream,” Tony scoffs and makes grabby hands at the offering. Mr. Science-bro quickly earned his right to hand him things – especially since it’s coffee all the time.

“Don’t…call me that,” he grimaces with a bashful shake of his head that’s never not going to be adorable.

“Why am I _Birdbrain_ anyway?” Clint pouts into his cereal bowl, only half-listening to them now.

“Because in a room with these two, we all have bird-sized brains,” Natasha answers for him, damn near invisible sitting in the corner of the room with her own coffee.

“So why am _I_ Birdbrain?!”

“Do you even know what your codename is? Oh well, do you prefer Katniss? Legolas? Robin Nude?” Tony indulges him, lips twitching at the last one.

“Arghhhhhh! That was one time, ONE TIME!” Clint groans, glaring at him.

“One time is all it takes. Sneaking around the Tower with no clothes on…what were you expecting?”

“…not to get caught? Stupid bet,” he mumbles and aggressively shoves more cereal into his mouth.

“Wait, so…you were also sneaking around the Tower…with no clothes on?” Bruce frowns, looking at the smirking spider in the corner.

She shrugs. “Can’t confirm nor deny that…since nobody caught me.”

“JARVIS?” Tony makes a double-take at the spies and looks up.

“ _I was merely the referee, Sir, and Miss Romanoff was most certainly…not caught_ ,” the AI cleverly answers.

“You savages…all of you,” Tony grins and sips his coffee with spirits already lifted.

Extremis, magic and dopplegangers aside, the Avengers might actually be the thing that's blowing his mind the most. He's the guy that doesn't play well with others after all...so much for that reputation. One alien invasion on top of a HYDRA conspiracy and suddenly they are an actually functioning team of mostly functioning people.

Having breakfast together, training together, sciencing shit up together, having fun together...living in this gigantic empty Tower thing together. Planning HYDRA's demise together.

That's way too much togetherness that Tony wouldn't really know how to deal with just few months ago. His experience when it comes to teams and working with people other than his closest friends is historically bad. Sans Rhodey, Pepper and Happy, it all usually ended with disappointment or worse - betrayal.

Might be still too early to completely disregard that possibility for the Avengers, but so far, they are all slowly making their way towards becoming not just efficient teammates but also friends. A weird kind of family, even.

Birdbrain and Nat have their very own dynamic already going on and being the spies they are, they don't trust easily. Others don't trust them easily either. Yet, they all seem to be warming up to each other rather well. Maybe it's their common goal of getting rid of HYDRA that's speeding up the usual process...or maybe they really weren't all that mismatched after all. They all have more in common than they realized before and with every day spent together it's all coming up to the surface and bringing them closer together.

One small revelation at a time.

Steve's far-away looks, Bruce's awkwardness, Nat's careful social distancing, Clint's nervous outbursts or Thor's complicated but not at all antagonistic relationship with Loki. Even Tony's carefully constructed forts made up of fake smiles and overly outgoing personas no longer fool the people in this kitchen right now.

It's not like Tony's trying to make it easy for them. He's got plenty of trust issues of his own and quite some history with the likes of Natasha and Steve. Now he feels like berating himself for ever judging either of them only based on that one time Natasha was sent to spy on him way back when or based on the superlative image Howard was so fond of instilling into his mind about Captain Righteous America.

It's almost… _nice_ , this strange domestic atmosphere.

“Toast?” Steve pushes a plate of buttered toasts his way, not looking up from yesterday’s copy of Times. “Five letters, retired pitcher Ryan something.”

“Nolan,” Clint mumbles through a mouthful of cereal.

Tony shrugs and sits down next to the supersoldier. “That a sports thing?”

“Wh – that’s _baseball_ , man! Bird-sized brains, my ass!”

“Don’t remind me of your ass over breakfast, please,” Tony glares at him, grabbing a slice of toast.

“Jealous of it, I know.”

“Disgusted, more like it.”

“An active galactic nucleus, six letters.”

Tony almost chokes on the toast. “Why are you doing this to yourself?” he asks Steve but looks back at Clint with a daring smirk.

“A…uhhh…a meteor, oh fuck if I know what a nucleus is! Sounds kinda dirty.”

“It’s quasar. Guess we all have our talents,” he throws the bird an olive branch. “Even though baseball is definitely not science.”

“How do you spell that?” Steve asks before Clint can argue about it, pen hovering over the neatly written Q.

“JARVIS?”

“ _Q, U, A, S, A, R – quasar_.”

“There, you win the spelling bee, J”

“ _Splendid, thank you, Sir_.”

“Asking JARVIS is cheating,” Steve squints at him.

“Yeah!” Clint instantly supports him.

“Tsk tsk! You don’t need to know everything…as long as you know how to find the answer you need. JARVIS is all about finding answers, aren’t you, J?”

“ _It is my favorite past time_.”

“Googling the right answers is still cheating and ruins the fun of solving the puzzle on your own,” Steve pouts.

“Uhuh, because you’ve been solving it all on your own the past half an hour,” Natasha quips.

“That’s…different. That’s teamwork!”

Tony takes a deep, exaggerated breath. “Are you saying JARVIS is not part of the team? How dare you!” he gapes at the now sweating supersoldier.

Making fun of Steve seems to be _his_ favorite past time, now that he thinks about it.

“No! That’s not what I mea…JARVIS, I’m sorry, you are of course part of the team and without a doubt you could solve the crossword all on your own in minutes.”

“ _Minutes_?!” Tony takes an even more offended stance. “First you call him google, then he’s not part of our team and now you’re calling him _slow_?! This is war, Rogers, I hope you realize that.”

“Tony,” he drops the pen and papers, raising hands in defense.

“He’s teasing you, Steve, relax before you give yourself a panic attack,” Natasha jumps in.

“Now who’s ruining the fun,” Tony sighs, dropping his fake offended expression.

Steve lets out a relived breath, sending a pointed glare his way but together with the pout it’s still more adorable than anything else.

“To be fair, you do make it way too easy,” Natasha adds with a small smile.

It’s all fun and games until the past comes back to haunt them. For some of them, the past is all the way back in the 40’s. So one moment Steve is merely annoyed, the next there’s a flash of recognition in his eyes and his lips twist into this ugly, sorrowful and vulnerable downward curve.

Nobody in this room needs to ask what’s wrong. Not anymore. They are all caught up with the stories of the Howling Commandos – and the stories of one Bucky Barnes in particular. The little punk who’d usually be the one teasing Steve, trying to break through his often uptight demeanor, all in good fun. Just like Rhodey often quips with Tony, pushing all his buttons and testing his patience.

Just like best friends often do.

“Quasar, there,” Tony grabs Steve’s abandoned pen and finishes the word for him with his haphazard scribble of a handwriting. “26 down is Bruce’s specialty. Brucie-bear! We need your teamwork here!” he slides the papers across the table towards Bruce, also content to just stand by the coffee-maker, fidgeting with his cup.

Bruce, being too precious for this world, sends them both a soft smile, puts on his glasses and steps up to solve the chemical compound puzzle.

Tony leans back against the chair, nudging Steve with his elbow in the process. “Speaking of teamwork, the head-cutting mission will soon be a go. Right, J?”

“ _Indeed. I am making a steady progress through the encryption. The surveillance on Mr. Rumlow and Director Pierce is also beginning to compile quite the damning amount of evidence. We already have five different points of interest_.”

“AKA possible HYDRA hideouts slash cult meeting rooms,” Tony interjects.

“ _Also, based on their phone calls and personal encounters, I have a list of approximately fifty individuals who might be either affiliated with HYDRA or directly part of the organization_.”

“We’re running surveillance on those as well,” he adds again.

“ _They do not seem to be suspicious of the Captain’s intentions either. The elevator incident must have been a surprise and there had been some wariness afterwards, but using Loki as an excuse for losing the Scepter and then directly coming in contact with Rumlow to confirm his allegiances, Captain Rogers is now considered HYDRA’s man among the Avengers._ ”

”You have one of those trustworthy faces, Capsicle, even when you’re lying. Who’d have thought?” Tony grins at the man, the shadows successfully chased away from his ocean blue eyes.

“They are still weary of me… the story we are telling is too good though,” Steve admits. “My uh…other self completely bamboozled them with his confidence. I’m just following his example.”

“You keep that up and you’ll be after our jobs in no time,” Clint nods, finally discarding the giant bowl of his breakfast. “Spymaster Rogers?”

“Codename America’s Ass,” Natasha agrees, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Hey! I’ll be competing for that title!”

“Not in your uniform you won’t,” Tony snorts. “And I think you already lost… _Robin Nude_.”

Clint opens his mouth to retort but ends up folding his arms and squinting at Natasha. “I’m never betting with you ever again.”

“Good luck with that,” she shrugs.

“Guys? Thirteen down is asking for a celestial body, seven letters…that’s Jupiter,” Bruce gives them all a suspicious stare.

“Okay?” Tony frowns, leaning towards him.

“ _Someone_ ,” he looks over his shoulder at Clint, “told Steve to write down _Beyoncé_.”

“I thought that’s a moon or something,” Steve looks at them, bewildered.

“You’re unreal, Cap,” Natasha shakes her head, trying not to outright laugh.

Tony chuckles, stealing the papers from his science bro. “Welp…so much for teamwork, I mean…dude! Clint! A biome native to sandstorms is a desert…not…dammit Birdbrain, _Darude sandstorm_? Really?! This is pure mutiny, Cap. Half of these are either completely wrong or better, they’re memes!” he gapes at the crossword. “Typical style of the 17th century architecture is apparently not Baroque, but Gangnam. Fucking Gangnam style, Clint? This is criminal,” he smacks the papers on the table, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably, right along with everyone else.

Even Steve joins in the laughter, albeit with an eyeroll and still confused about Beyoncé. “S’pose crosswords ain’t going to be my thing.”

“Tony said it, we all got our own talents,” Natasha says between chuckles.

“We sure do,” Tony nods, voice high-pitched, continuing to wheeze with laughter. 

They end up brewing another batch of coffee and spend the next hour fixing the crossword anyway. And when Thor joins them later with his surprisingly accurate knowledge about space and physics and eats three boxes of Fruity-loops while animatedly telling them about this one time Loki turned into a snake to scare him and stab him afterwards, Tony starts to think that maybe…just maybe…a team might not be such a bad thing at all.

*******

Good things are never meant to last. Planned obsolesce clearly extends way beyond lightbulbs and overpriced smartphones. No matter if it’s success at work, relationships or their fragile human life itself, they are all planned to be obsolete, they all have an expiry date. It may not be printed on their foreheads for the world to see but they all know their journey has a limited duration and the end of the line is constantly fast approaching.

Tony was never bothered by the fact. His brain is too busy with science to be occupied by an existential crisis every other week. He knows how the story goes anyway – when something goes his way for once, it’s only a matter of time before it all goes to shit. Like on a rollercoaster, it can only ever go as far up before it breaks into a steep downfall at the top.

While him and Pepper are slowly reaching their end station, him and the Avengers are still going strong in a seemingly unstoppable and endless climb. Surely the only thing that could stop them is the multi-headed beast of myths and legends. Cut one head off, two more grow in its place. Try fighting it with bare hands and it will devour its pray one bite at a time. Underestimate it and it will _jump out from the shadows_ and strike when least expected.

Sometimes in the form of a brainwashed super-assassin.

“Not your friend, I take it?” The Ancient One looks up from the struggling heap of limbs on the floor to Tony.

“Do your friends normally man-drop on you from the ceiling with a knife?! Nope, that’s not a knife, that’s a machete!” Tony stares at the sharp object that could have been buried in his chest right now, instead of just harmlessly discarded at his feet.

“More of a dagger, really.”

“Oh, my bad. A _dagger_ then!” he laughs a little hysterically and wills his heart to slow down. “You’re uh…pretty fast. For a bald monk lookin-ass sect master.”

“Supreme sect master,” she adds, lips quirking up. “I knew about him the moment he stepped into the Sanctum.”

“Ah, is that so? Any particular reason you waited until he _tried to kill me_?!”

“Needed to determine his intentions first. We do get an occasional visitor and can’t immediately be on the offensive.”

“Sneaking in through your windows kind of visitors? Uhuh,” Tony retorts, his attention now fully on the restrained man lying between them. “Interesting.”

She raises a curious eyebrow at him, her hands lowering to her hips, the magical rings still present around them though.

“We spent weeks looking for this guy…and HYDRA just delivered him straight to us. He’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You believe in coincidences? Of course you don’t, you’re not stupid. This…this is highly suspicious though.”

“So you do know him?”

“You could say that,” he edges a little closer to the crumpled form and crouches down. “He’s been dead since 1944. Officially.”

“Unofficially, he looks quite alive.”

“Don’t let the looks deceive you. Just because your heart is beating and your neurons are firing doesn’t instantly qualify for being alive. He’s been tortured and experimented on for decades so that HYDRA could have an efficient murdering puppet at their disposal. I’m not even half-way through the reports JARVIS deciphered and I feel like _I_ need serious therapy…can’t imagine what his state of mind’s gonna be. If there’s anything even left of it…,” he trails off.

JARVIS discovered the files on the so called Winter Soldier just days ago and Tony barely had the endurance to read through the first few pages. Words like _programming_ and _maintenance_ suddenly have an entirely new meaning and it makes him physically sick to even think about it. And there are dozens of pages to still go through.

He wanted to get the whole story first, let JARVIS try and find where HYDRA’s keeping him…and then summarize it for the Avengers, come up with a rescue plan and blow HYDRA to kingdom come. If he’d even mention that he found something about Barnes in front of Steve, the man would insist to read the entire horror story and while Tony can be savage sometimes with teasing and annoying their mighty leader, he absolutely _cannot_ let Steve read that shit.

No need to spread the nightmares around, not to mention calming down a supersoldier blinded with rage would go about as well as it goes with the Hulk. Bruce and Nat might be working on some calming thingie together but still – enraged Cap is not a good Cap.

Now that Barnes decided to literally drop by – or was rather forced slash commanded to – another one of Tony’s master plans had gone down the toilet.

“Can you put him to sleep or something? I don’t usually carry sedatives around and if he continues to struggle like this he’s going to pop a vein. And Steve will murder me. He still might anyway, you know…good old killing the messenger deal.”

With a hand wave and a complex, sparkly orange ornament appearing around her wrist, Barnes stops his attempts to break free and sags onto the floor.

“Remind me to never piss you off,” he glances up at her and cautiously shuffles closer to Barnes, reaching for the mask covering his face.

He could still be wrong. This could be just some random ninja guy…wearing Barnes’s face and the iconic metal hand he read so much about.

“Yep, that’s him alright,” he mumbles to himself when the mask comes off. Just like Steve, Barnes is like a specter of the past jumping straight out of the 40’s, not a year older. Despite the long hair and outgrown stubble, there’s no question about his identity. “Now what,” he sighs, standing up.

“You said you came here tonight on his behalf? What did you have in mind?” she asks, sitting back on the sofa.

“Wasn’t really sure. Ever tried tracking down a dead man? A complete ghost? JARVIS almost burned half of his RAM trying so I thought that maybe you have some… _ways_ ,” he waves his hands, mimicking her magicky movements.

“We agreed on assistance during emergencies. I’m not s - ”

“Yeah yeah yeah, you wizards and your emergencies. I’m in the mindset of trying to _prevent_ emergencies because when shit hits the fan it might be a bit too late to do anything. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing with Mr. Forecast over there?” he nods at the pendant around her neck.

“Indeed. So, what _emergency_ are we preventing?”

“HYDRA taking over the world? I don’t know…second coming of Hitler? They spent the last six decades quietly plotting something big. They’re everywhere! SHIELD, FBI, CIA – every damn secret agency you can think of. They are politicians, tycoons, scientists…you don’t need a brain to guess what they plan to do with such an arsenal of power.”

“And this man…”

“Bucky Barnes.”

“This Bucky Barnes, he’s supposed to be the key to prevent that from happening?” she asks with her usual dose of skepticism.

“In a way. He’s been with HYDRA for seventy years…with his help, we could take HYDRA down in the most efficient and safest way possible. Do a little spring cleaning at SHIELD, flush them out of hiding, expose them once again to the world and erase all the progress on their evil schemes without endangering civilians, or us for that matter. Question is…how much of Bucky Barnes is left in there for us to salvage?”

“He seemed very keen on murdering you.”

“Probably his newest mission. Not too unexpected, I must be HYDRA’s least favorite person in this corner of the world. Can’t buy me, can’t threaten me…can’t kill me. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No need,” she sighs. “As I said, if things went the way they were supposed to, none of this would be happening. I wouldn’t have needed to save your life…neither you or Mr. Barnes would be here right now.”

“Right…doubt they could breach the Tower’s security so they…,” he pauses, realizing what it means. “They noticed me coming here every week, alone, no armor on or in the suitcase…those opportunistic sons of bitches,” he shakes his head and steps over Barnes, collapsing on the sofa next to the Ancient One. “Holed up in the Tower or going out with the others I’m a difficult target but this way, they thought I’d be vulnerable. Probably thought I come here to buy drugs,” he scoffs.

“On the bright side,” she smiles, “it means this HYDRA organization clearly has no knowledge of this particular establishment, otherwise they wouldn’t send him after you. Which means…”

“They have no idea there’s a Sect of Witchcraft and Wizardry _or_ that it’s allied with the Avengers,” he finishes for her and mirrors the tiny grin. “Nice. We can work with that I guess. If he doesn’t report back though, you might have a lot more uninvited guests soon…and I can’t really walk out the front door either. Shit. We need to be smart about this now.”

“I can portal you back to your Tower – along with Mr. Barnes if you wish.”

Tony cringes at the mere memory of said portal. “No portals.”

“Considering your predicament, I thought you might reconsider.”

“Hmmmm, let me see…nope. Nah uh. I don’t feel like having a panic attack tonight, thank you very much.”

“I can make it look…less like a portal.”

“A hole in space is a hole in space, doesn’t matter what you call it, my brain understands what it is and that’s all it takes. I could…but then…argh!” he flails, clutching his head. “I can call my armor, bust out of here that way…if anyone’s looking, they’ll think I either killed my assailant or am escaping from him. Either way, they’ll come looking.”

“And they will find an old, empty house.”

“Will they? It’s not what _he_ found!”

“I will raise more defenses to hide our presence from any further intruders. We do not usually need such measures but this is hardly a usual occurrence. As for Mr. Barnes, I can portal him wherever you wish…although,” she pauses, watching the sleeping man with interest. “We might be able to assist him – and by extension you. If his state of mind is a concern, we can determine the extent of the damage and also help mend it.”

Tony narrows his eyes at her, looking for any signs of foul play. The last thing he needs is to hand over Barnes to people that intend to cause even more abuse. “What are you, mystic psychiatrists? Doesn’t sound like your area of expertise, you’re too cryptic for that.”

“Not me, personally. Some of the other Masters however do have proclivity for the area of the mystic arts that deals with the mind.”

“I appreciate the offer, Bald One, but I think he’s had enough people messing with his head. Remember Loki? Him and his little Mind pebble had the same kind of proclivity and just go ask Clint about how great it was to be at the receiving end of that.”

“Mind-controlling spells are indeed like that. I can assure you that’s not what I mean. You are worried, understandably. We barely know each other and as far as you’re concerned, I might still be a hallucination caused by your non-existent sleeping habits. Trust is a fickle thing, Anthony. Those of us so often betrayed by who we trust must be especially cautious.”

“We have an understanding then,” Tony nods, frowning at her words. He might prefer her being cryptic, after all.

“At the same time, trust is important among allies and friends. I am trusting you with the knowledge of the mystic arts and our Order…what I ask is for you to trust us in return. We can help this man, in as sensible a way as need be. Without being intrusive, without force or any other uncanny scenario you are already conjuring up.”

Damn her and her insight. “You better not be reading my mind, that’s a red flag right there!”

“As if reading someone’s mind would be as effortless as the movies make it look. You might think yourself a mystery but to me you are an open book, Anthony.”

“I told you not to call me that! So much for an open book,” he rolls his eyes.

“I could call you Karen and you wouldn’t care. You mind Anthony because it reminds you of someone who used to call you that way.”

“Wow, Dr. Phil. You know and _still_ call me that anyway?!” he barks at her.

“It reminds you in a good way. It brings happy memories. Bittersweet too, naturally…and you don’t want to deal with that, so you refuse all of it. Reminiscence is good for the soul, Anthony. Don’t just discard it because it reminds you of something that used to be and can be no longer. Remember it for what it was and appreciate it ever came to be, however brief.”

He stares into her all too knowing pale eyes and curses the day he knocked on the Sanctum doors. There’s a reason he doesn’t want to deal with emotions and nostalgia and…whatever this damn feeling is in his chest whenever someone dares to call him like his mother and Jarvis used to. In the same, soft voice, like his name is something precious.

Damn this woman.

“Whatever,” he rolls his eyes, hoping the moisture that gathered there will soon evaporate. “If you say you can help, you can help. Fine. But I can’t decide it on my own.”

“I suppose it is only fair that the other Avengers learn of this alliance, since it concerns them too,” she agrees without him even needing to mention the team. Surprisingly doesn’t put up a fight either.

“And you’re okay with that? More people you’ll have to entrust your secrets to?”

“We have been keeping our existence secret for thousands of years. Trying to expose us would only lead you to severe consequences that I doubt any one of you would wish to bring upon yourselves.”

“Only you can make cryptic threats sound intimidating,” Tony chuckles. “Fine. Keep the sleeping beauty until tomorrow, I’ll get the team up to speed with everything and we’ll stop by.”

“I’m amenable to that. I would suggest Kamar-Taj instead of the Sanctum to not draw more attention to it.”

“Hm…have a helipad in there? Don’t think we can keep a low profile with the quinjet in Kathmandu.”

“I’ll clear out the courtyard for you,” she nods and stands up. “And prepare tea.”

Tony groans, sending her a glare. “You and Bruce are gonna be best friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: More bonding time in Kamar-Taj. 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely comments & kudos! <3 So...are you guys ready for Stephen yet? :3 Hmmm, I wonder ^^


	5. 2013 - The Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kamar-Taj and the Avengers make it official.

"My brain is telling me no...but my eyes are looking at her and completely buying her story. I mean, she does look like a wizard," Clint breaks the silence, leaning towards Natasha.

"Right?! This is _so weird_ ," she agrees.

"Am I the only one who finds the self-refilling glass of whiskey weirder than...," Bruce starts, hands flailing in the Ancient One's direction.

"Anthony believed the glass might help the cause - as it did in his case," she smiles, watching the varying reactions from the Avengers with something akin to glee.

Tony clears his throat, clasping his hands together. "Yup. So magic is real, ta da~! We already dealt with the whole doppelganger situation without many problems, so I doubt this whole thing is blowing your minds."

"Did she just call you _Anthony_?" Bruce grimaces at him.

"Yeah, that's blowing my mind a lot more than any of this," Natasha nods, stealing the whiskey glass from Bruce while he's distracted.

Tony rolls his eyes, glaring at the positively stunned occupants of the opposite sofa. "It's my name, nothing mind-blowing about it. With that said, if you ever use it, I will throw you out of the penthouse window faster than you can finish your sentence."

"She just used it...s'not fair, man," Clint pouts.

"Oh I would throw her out of the window but she's magic," Tony squints sideways, not at all enjoying the Ancient One's serene expression. As if she's dealing with actual adult-children on daily basis.

Having met a few of the other Masters and apprentices, Tony can kinda see why. Except for Mordo. He's giving out major, serious-dad vibes.

"How are you doing over there, Cap?" Bruce glances to the window, where the supersoldier had silently retreated to about half an hour ago after the first mention of Bucky.

When Steve turns around, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why he needed to introduce some space between himself and everyone else and absorb all the information on his own all the way over there. He's desperately trying to control the wild emotions running across his face, teeth gritted and eyes glistening. It would take someone like him - or Bruce - to be able to just stand there listening, instead of leaping over the coffee table at first opportunity and interrogating the Ancient One up close, possibly while holding her up eight feet in the air by the collar of her fancy yellow robes.

Tony was kinda preparing for that the first few moments - not that he'd expect Steve to get further than the coffee table, should she feel in any way threatened. She dispatched Barnes so quick back in the Sanctum that one moment the assassin was falling right at him and one blink of an eye later, he was bound on the floor. She's the supreme wizard, so of course she must be powerful - a fact that still makes Tony highly weary of her otherwise harmless outlook and calm demeanor that's rivaling even Bruce's.

"What are you plannin' to do?" Steve asks, his intense gaze locked onto her.

"What I said - help," she replies without needing to ask what Steve meant. Half an hour in his silent presence and she's already got him all figured out.

She's officially his least favorite person in the world. Right after HYDRA. And Clint on bad days.

"How?"

"That is to be decided. With your approval, the chosen Masters at Kamar-Taj will conduct a brief examination and propose treatment options."

"And when you say treatment...you mean magic," Bruce eyes her with as much suspicion as Tony feels. He wouldn't expect any less from his science bro.

"Not necessarily. Some magic will likely be involved in the diagnosis and initial dealing with any damage this HYDRA organization might have caused his mind, but the remainder of his recuperation might be handled in entirely non-magic ways. Believe it or not, Captain Rogers, when it comes to the mind, it is much easier to heal it with normal means than those magic can offer. Such is its complexity. It doesn't bend to the mystic arts easily, especially when one's will is strong."

Steve nods, eyes lowering to the floor for a moment before flicking up to Tony. "You trust her?"

"I barely know her," he admits without missing a beat. "As I said...found her Hogwarts lair when I traced Hulk B over there. The only reason you don't already know _that_ , is because I was sworn to secrecy and let me tell you, I've never been threatened this subtly in my entire life. She's got that down to a science."

"Our existence is a carefully guarded secret," she backs him up, sending him a tiny grin. "The only reason you _do_ know now is because Anthony suggested it, in light of our forming alliance and the...unexpected visit of Sergeant Barnes."

"You and I remember that very differently," he frowns at her. “Anyway, trust is a big word. I don’t even trust myself most days, so I’m probably not the best reference here, Cap. All I do know is that she saved my life last night, and without me actually suggesting anything, she offered to help Barnes. Despite all the secrecy and responsibility she’s got with her own Earth-protecting squad.”

Steve nods, shoulders heaving with rapid breaths.

“You gave me that stone,” Bruce says, fixing his gone askew glasses. “The other…me. Why?”

“Do you just give it to everyone who lands on your rooftop during an alien attack?” Natasha goes back to her interrogating tone, shuffling ever so slightly to Bruce.

“Not everyone. Your other self made a good argument,” she shrugs.

“Although backed up by flawed science. We’re talking about that later, Brucie-bear,” Tony winks at him.

“He promised the stone will be returned once it served its purpose,” the Ancient One continues, head turning back to Steve. “And the other _you_ fulfilled that promise.”

Steve’s eyes widen a bit, his defensive posture relaxing.

“Whatever our parallel universe had to be facing, it required all the Infinity stones to deal with it,” she shudders. “Should we face the same one day, we should do so together.”

“Together,” Steve frowns, the word coming out more like a question.

Tony studies her dead serious expression for a moment and then sighs, standing up. “What she’s saying is that she trusts _us_. You know, leading by an example and all that good stuff…offering help, meeting us here, telling us all the Hogwarts secrets…you wanted trust, Cap, she’s handing it out first.”

Steve exhales, the tension surrounding him disappearing in the instant. He takes a few steps forward, stopping in front of the still comfortably seated Sorcerer Supreme and offers her a hand. “Together then.”

She awards him with that annoying, gentle smile and nods, accepting the handshake.

***

“How long has he been in there?” Tony walks up to Natasha, sitting next to her on the stone bench which naturally has the best view of the courtyard.

Can’t put a stop to instincts, even off the clock. Although he doubts the spider spy is ever off the clock. They’ve been living in the Tower for a year now and she still sits in places that have the best strategic properties and with the best view of all the entries and exits.

“About an hour,” she sighs, eyes never wandering off the practicing sorcerers in front of them.

“That a good sign? Or do we need Bruce’s bedside manner here asap?”

“Yes.”

Tony squints at her, noting the tiny smirk playing on her lips. “So it’s a good sign…but you also wouldn’t mind Bruce to come here and keep you company,” he purses his lips, completely unfazed by the murder glare she sends his way. “My bad. Next time, I’ll just send him instead. Between him and me, we have a thousand empathic cells and they are all his so…it does make sense.”

“That’s not true,” she says, the murder dissipating but the glare staying on.

“Textbook narcissism, remember?”

“Yeah. That _also_ isn’t true.”

“It’s in a SHIELD report, so it must be true,” he scoffs, keeping his eyes off of all the magic on purpose. This place creeps him out on multiple levels. Not only is it full of magicky shit, but it doesn’t even have heating. Or flushing toilets. Or a wi-fi signal.

The Supreme Monk Wizard really puts the Ancient in the Ancient One.

“It’s bullshit,” Natasha leans back, crossing her arms.

“Heeeey now, my best spy friend wrote that, she’ll kick your ass!” he follows her and also leans back against the cold stone, his sour grimace smoothing into a small smile.

“I’d deserve it. You’re way too good an actor, you know that? Take that and your brain and I speak for everyone when I say that the world is lucky HYDRA never got to you.”

“Not for the lack of trying,” he utters before he can initiate a proper brain to mouth filter.

The Avengers might be privy to most of what he uncovered in the SHIELD / HYDRA database…but not all of it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she whispers, danger oozing out of the words.

Thankfully, he can now recognize when that danger is aimed at him or outwards so he just shrugs. “I’ve never NOT been part of HYDRA’s bucket list. They have a diagram for Starks I guess. Dangerous? Yes. Can be recruited? No. Can be easily disposed of? No. And the rest is history.”

He tends to forget that Natasha isn’t one of the most fearsome spies on the planet just because of her deadly thighs and even deadlier aim. Her insight combined with the ability to instantly put two and two together might as well be her actual superpower.

“Anything you wanna share?” she goes back to narrowing her eyes at him.

“Nope.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Huh. So I guess this wasn’t you just a moment ago, insinuating that HYDRA’s usual game plan for the Starks end with the Winter Soldier being sent to murder them?”

“Well…usually there’s a supersoldier serum and a scheming business partner somewhere in the mix so…nope. Unless _you_ are insinuating that I’ve been secretly experimenting on Cap and Pepper wants to stab me in the back by hiring HYDRA’s services to get rid of me and become the ultimate boss of everything.”

She gasps, eyes widening for just a fraction before she averts her gaze back to the trainees, face neutral. “Does Steve know?”

“Why? So he could somehow end up blaming it on himself? No thank you.”

“Right…because you totally don’t have that in common.”

“We sure don’t. I blame everything on JARVIS.”

She shakes her head and sighs. “Does _he_ know?”

“No idea. Too early to tell how much he remembers. According to the Old and Bald, he’s having an easier time remembering World War Two than HYDRA…no surprise there.”

“Will you tell him? Tell _them_?”

“So they can somehow end up blaming it on themselves?” he repeats, rolling his eyes. “Please, I don’t need that on my conscience and neither do they.”

“He might remember.”

“And we’ll cross that bridge when it comes up. Until then, I prefer blissful ignorance. Besides, it doesn’t matter.”

She inhales, the sound sharp against the sizzle of magic in the background. “The death of your parents doesn’t matter?!”

“It _did_. _When it mattered_. Which is not _now_ anymore. Stane sold the info about the serum to HYDRA and happily agreed to HYDRA’s terms of…witness disposal. Son of a bitch is to blame for everything. Now? HYDRA is about to be in complete shambles and Stane is long dead. So as far as I am concerned? This no longer matters. It’s been dealt with.”

“Have _you_ dealt with it?”

“Yep. Killed the guy myself and I’m already orchestrating HYDRA’s timely demise.”

“That’s not what I meant by ‘dealing with it’, Tony.”

“So what?! Are _you_ dealing with it?! With all the shit you’ve been put through?! Or _Clint_? Yeah, didn’t think so!” he scoffs when his outburst is followed by silence. “You have your floor on permanent lockdown to a point I doubt a fly could make it past the vents! Clint is on edge 24/7, worrying someone will target his family – no matter the fact that their existence is a better kept secret than Pentagon’s nuclear codes! And don’t even get me started on the rest of us, the sheer amount of trust and daddy issues in the team can’t possibly be legal! We all deal with it the best way we can – hiding, running, denying, ignoring, the whole she-bang if needed!”

“Installing volatile untested tech into your brain?” she adds, voice calm and surprisingly not judgmental.

“Sure, why not! Walking around with a ticking time bomb in my chest doesn’t exactly improve my mental well-being, you know? You, sitting here all casual pretending to be here just to support Steve? Also not improving anything.”

It’s a low blow, a hypocritical one too but he can’t help himself. Dealing with emotions has never been his forte.

“Can’t handle feelings, Stark?” she shoots right back as if reading his mind. “Very telling.”

“Can’t handle someone caring about you for more than ten seconds? Very tel…wait a minute,” he blurts out, shaking his head. “That’s not just you, that’s _all_ of us, isn’t it? Shit! We _all_ suck at dealing with stuff, don’t we?”

She shrugs, nudging him with her shoulder. “It’s part of our team dynamics. Something Steve said…we can’t deal with ourselves sometimes, but at least we’re in a good company. We might be failing but at least we’re failing together,” she lets out a quiet laugh.

“Sounds like Steve. Bet he followed it up with some uplifting quote about how failing and togetherness will eventually lead to succeeding. He’s unbelievable…an eternal optimist born during the Great Depression? Fucking unreal,” he complains and even to his own ears it sounds fonder than anything else he first intended.

“Well…we do balance each other out. So, feeling better now?” she raises an eyebrow at him, inspecting his confused reaction. “For a supposed extrovert, you tend to bottle everything up a lot. Always fighting for control of your emotions, always needing to keep your cool. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to let go, lose your cool for a bit.”

“You mean blow up and be an asshole to you? Are you a masochist or something? Don’t encourage my bad behavior like that.”

“Saying the truth in a slightly raised voice hardly qualifies as being an asshole. You’re not making fun of me for not trusting flies to wander around my vents, you’re not belittling Clint for being a paranoid husband and father, you’re not disputing Steve’s homesickness or Bruce’s insecurities or Thor’s complicated love for his tricky asshole of a brother. No matter how you play it off, Stark, I can see right through you – now that you’re not blinding me with your sparkly public persona.”

Tony stares at her, mouth slightly agape. She didn’t only admit to being fooled by him, she just freely admitted to the existence of her own fears and issues and did it in more words than he’s probably ever heard her speak out loud in private. It dawns on him then, that they might all be bundles of trust issues – some aimed inwards, some outwards, but none aimed at _each other_.

Natasha doesn’t mind them coming to her floor to hang out, doesn’t watch their every move with her usual calculating gaze, doesn’t fiddle with her belt or jacket or other likely places where she hides her knives, ready to attack and defend.

Clint was an epitome of calm during their visit to the farm and instead of guarded deflections, he beams at every comment they make about his family. They never do it in public but Clint would never do it _anywhere_ – yet he does in the Tower.

Steve pointedly avoids all the spot-lights, all the crowds and their curious and sometimes prying questions. He’s closed off and reserved – unless it’s 5AM in the common kitchen and he’s unashamedly standing by the stove with a cutesy apron on, making eggs for everyone exactly how they like them, while telling them stories about the Howling Commandoes, spatula and eggs flying everywhere when he dramatizes a fight or a particularly intense or funny situation. He never minds them walking in on him while he sketches, nor the questions that usually follow – is that a street in Brooklyn he used to live at? Is that the army base he trained in? Is that Peggy? Bucky? His mom?

Bruce could spend an entire gala just smiling, nodding and inching towards the most desolated areas away from people. The strongest – and quietest – Avenger. Until he’s suddenly talking faster and longer than even Tony can, fascinated by this new scientific discovery or that new technology over there or this great new coffee blend he’s been recommended at the local shop. When he’s with them, he’s the most open out of them all, despite having every reason not to be.

Thor plays the foolish alien demi-god anywhere but the Tower. He’ll be confused about phones and emails and Netflix when around the mere strange mortals. Then he bifrosts to the Tower and is capable of keeping up with Tony’s talk about quantum physics and knows how to work with a laptop without ever having one…destroying it of course, not because he’s a brute but because he’s not used to fragile Earthly tech. He talks about his mother, talks about Asgard and all the other realms he’s visited and more often than not, he talks about Loki and their mischievous ventures together when they were still children, unburdened by responsibilities and all that other nasty stuff.

Then there’s him and he’s no exception to this. Their morning routine has quickly become Tony’s favorite time of day, making him save any open project and head up from the lab no matter how close he is to another scientific breakthrough – something previously unheard of. They all expressed their concern about Extremis, not because they wouldn’t trust Tony with it but because they are worried about the surgery and the damn tech not working properly and hurting him rather than helping. Something Tony wouldn’t expect from anyone outside of Rhodey, Happy and Pepper. Pepper, who continues to be his friend and shovel-talks the Avengers any chance she gets and keeps giving him hugs, telling him how proud she is.

Tony’s still confused about that. So he maybe eats and sleeps a lot better now, doesn’t drink so much anymore and even lets the Avengers hand him things…all of which a normal adult being should be capable of, so there really isn’t anything to be proud of. When he told her that, she only hugged him harder so he decided to drop any future arguments about it.

Somehow, this whole team thing is working in everyone’s favor. They’re all better together than apart. Another thing Tony’s yet to understand – until he does, he’ll just send Coulson a gift basket along with a free-pass to his jet so he and the cellist can finally go to someplace nice and elope.

Maybe Tony can get some peace himself, once Extremis is all sorted out and this whole HYDRA business taken care of.

“So,” he clears his throat and decides to promptly abandon the subject. “You and Bucky.”

She rolls her eyes, smiling. “I doubt I have to explain this to you, of all people. Like why I wouldn’t want Steve to know anything about…I don’t care if _you_ know. You’re not going to fuss over me because of it or demand explicit details or demand names of everyone responsible to add to your HYDRA kill list. But Steve is Steve, he _would_ make a big deal out of it and that’s the last thing I need. Given the circumstances, also the last thing Barnes needs.”

“True…although I definitely demand names for my kill list if you have any. Prison is too good for anyone that had anything to do with that shit. Having read that shit, I now have some unseemly ideas about everything I could do to those bastards.”

Her lips twist into a sad, but genuine smile but before she can respond, they catch movement from across the courtyard.

Steve emerges from the Ancient One’s dusty dojo office, expression unreadable.

“How did it go?” Nat asks when he walks up to few feet away from the bench they occupy.

He just nods and up close Tony recognizes the emotion oozing out of those blue eyes.

Fury.

“Say the word, Cap. Got my suit right over there, we can go blast HYDRA to hell right this second. I’ll even let you have Pierce all to yourself…with maybe one repulsor blast to his nether regions. Two blasts – no, three blasts…small ones? Three small blasts into his three small junks. We can negotiate the ratio, I’ll even settle for a good old fashioned punch to the face.”

“I wanna get in on that too,” Natasha adds, voice dropping low and dangerous.

Steve takes a few more calming breaths and nods again. “Soon, we’ll all get a shot, but not before the action plan is finalized. We can’t give HYDRA a single chance to recover after we’re done with it. Oh and Pierce? He’s all mine,” he squints at them and for the first time ever, Tony’s actually a little afraid of the supersoldier even though he knows he’d never hurt him or any of his friends.

“Come on, sharing is caring. Surely you can leave one or two punches for me and the itsy bitsy,” Tony initiates puppy-dog eyes, knowing no amount of snark could possibly lighten the mood but that’d never stop him from trying.

The tiny smirk that twists Steve’s lips is worth it. “Nah. I don’t think I will.”

Tony pouts. “Fine. I’m calling dibs on Rumlow then,” he grins, earning a death glare from Natasha this time.

“Whoever gets to him first has the dibs,” she challenges.

“Deal. Snoozers will be losers.”

“You have a surgery soon, Tony. Let’s talk about HYDRA’s demise _after_ you’re…how did you call it?” Steve frowns.

“After my upgrade to T1000?” he beams, filling in the blank for him.

“Yeah, that. Whatever that is.”

“Jesus, Cap. How far behind are you on that movie list? Never mind, we are scheduling mandatory team movie nights on Friday! Starting tomorrow. You can watch Star Wars when I’m in the hospital, I’ll gladly skip on that.”

“You better not be scheduling any more surgeries later to get out of the Hunger games. Clint _already_ put that on the list,” Natasha smirks.

Tony facepalms, groaning. “Can we _not_ keep him? I don’t think I can work with someone who’s favorite trilogy is _the Twilight_!”

“He likes romcoms. Finds them relaxing,” Natasha defends him.

“Twilight is not a romcom! It’s a rom _con_! And that hunger thing is no better, he just likes that because it’s the first popular thing since Lord of the Rings that has a bow-wielding main character!”

“And it’s Jennifer Lawrence.”

“ _And_ I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steve interjects.

Tony stands up, clasping Steve’s shoulder. “For once, ignorance is a blessing. Do not ever let Clint talk you into watching any of that.”

"I will try my best to avoid it."

"That translates to - _'I will say no but then Clint will use his puppy eyes, show me the photos of his kids doing cute stuff and talk me into watching it anyway because I'm a big, big softie'_ ," Natasha purses her lips, daring Steve to argue.

Steve sighs, the worrisome frown between his eyes finally disappearing. "Yeah. You're prolly right. I don't mind."

"Of course you don't. Big, _big_ softie," Tony exchanges a confirming nod with Natasha. "So, what did the Ancient Bald One tell ya?"

Steve eyes him suspiciously at the nickname. "She uh...she's somethin' else, that's for sure."

"Ohhhh just wait till you see her do the whooshy whooshy magic stuff. I'm totally gonna science that shit up by the way. Magic, my ass! I bet they've got some radioactive water up here."

"She said that her acquaintances are...confident that they can help Bucky to...," he trails off, the word he's looking for way too elusive.

No matter what the wizards do, there's only so much they _can_ do. It's not like they can undo the past eighty years of torment and even if they could, Barnes - highly likely sharing his best friend's martyric tendencies - would probably choose not to anyway.

"They can help," Steve ends up with, shoulders squaring into a more confident posture. "That's what matters. She said I can visit anytime I want, that better be true," he looks over his shoulder with a squint as if expecting the Ancient One to be there spying on them somehow.

To be fair, for all they know about magic - which is somewhere between zero and zero point zero - she could be.

"Don't worry. I've got the GPS coordinates of Hogwarts. She ever tells you that you can't come visit? We'll be touching down in this courtyard within ten minutes."

"Thank you, Tony. Seriously. If it weren't for you, Bucky might've-"

Tony tuts, shaking his head. "Hey now, if it weren't for our doppelganger B-team, none of this would be happening...so send the thank you cards to them."

"Either way, thank you. For telling me. Allowing us to be here, talkin' it out with the Ancient One...everything."

Handling Steve's Disappointed Eyebrows of Doom is one thing. Tony can handle those, he's been on the receiving end of those in many shapes and forms his entire life. Right now, Steve's looking at him like he personally hung the stars and lit the sun when really, he didn't do anything other than almost gotten himself killed in a haunted house by a brainwashed assassin. He can't deal with that look, so he does what he does best.

Deflects.

"All this talk about movies really put me into a mood for one," he clasps his hands together, averting his eyes from his two teammates, pretending to be interested in the training sorcerers. "I'm thinking Harry Potter, what say you?"

There's a short silence and when Tony glances back, he catches them exchanging another expression he can't deal with - fondness.

"Sure," Natasha saves him further awkward monologues and stands up. "Is that Hogwarts magic stuff real then?"

"Pffft! Look at these guys, do they look like your typical wand-wielding, Avada Kedavra-ing wizards?"

"Dunno. We're in the middle of Kathmandu, maybe the wands and butchered Latin spells are a British thing."

"Huh...I'll pay the London Sanctum a visit. For science. If I find JK Rowling prowling in there dressed like a hobo samurai, I'll be so fucking done."

"I d- "

"You don't even know what we're talking about, got it, Cap. Let's go! When Barnes is up and about, we're gonna do a proper Harry Potter marathon and whaddya know, you can brag about getting aaaaall the references," Tony beams, leading them back to the jet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Tony undergoes the Extremis surgery. (golly gosh I do wonder who could POSSIBLY be experienced enough to be allowed to handle Tony's brain :3)


	6. 2013 - Extremis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! ^^ 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely ocmments and kudos and now, it's time to meet everyone's favorite Doctor! :3 Enjoy!

Waking up to the Extremis in full effect feels like having a massive router plugged into one’s brain and taking a hit from Thor’s supercharged hammer every half a second. Tony’s had some rough awakenings in his time of life but none of them combined could have prepared him for this one. It’s loud and too fast to comprehend, control or stop.

Somewhere within the first few seconds of lucidity, he accepts the fact that he might have made some major mistakes after all and that maybe his head _is_ going to burst into flames regardless of his thorough efforts to mitigate the overheating issues. Maybe he simply overestimated his brain’s capacity to handle the tech so the bursting into flames part won’t even have anything to do with the heating issue.

In any case, he hopes whatever is to happen happens quickly, before he accidentally short-circuits the hospital’s equipment…and all the people attached to that equipment.

The overwhelming noise gets even louder for few more seconds until it suddenly cuts away into complete silence. As if someone flipped a switch and cast him back into the dark ages.

 _It was for the best, Sir_.

JARVIS? The voice sounds a bit distorted and not quite like the AI, but he can’t get his own voice to work and ask out loud.

_That will not be necessary, Sir. You are thinking quite loud as is._

‘Wait…what?’

_The distortion is most definitely caused by my limited ability to imagine what my voice would sound like within this interface. It is nothing like the voice synthesizer the intercom is using. I am certain you will be able to make proper adjustments once you get your bearings._

‘You can…hear what I’m thinking?’

_In a way. I am able to analyze and read your processing data…your…conscious thoughts, I suppose? Also your sensory inputs and general physical processing data. How are you feeling, Sir?_

‘Whoa. That’s…hold on. I’m not…I’m not really feeling…anything. Nothing at all. Am I dead?!’

_Merely unconscious._

‘I don’t know about that, J. This feels a lot like being awake. Just without the blinking my eyes open and moving about part of being awake.’

_You’re mind is…aware. Your body is most certainly not._

‘Okaaay then…how do I wake up? This…aware thing…I’m not really a fan so far. Need some…I don’t know. Need something to do. Can’t do that in dreamworld over here.’

_You could probably wake up with just a thought – but I would advise you not to._

‘Well, as always I value your advice but I’m really not doing too good with all this…nothingness. You know what nothingness reminds me of? Space. And wormholes. Wormholes through space. Wormholes in the bright blue sky that end up in the dark nothingness of space with alien armies and stuff. Fuck…you can literally understand everything I’m thinking right now, can’t you?’

_Indeed._

‘Shit…you’re in for a ride. Might wanna tune out or you’ll be needing therapy soon, too.’

_Thankfully, my mechanical brain does not possess features like mental health._

‘Huh. Good for you. Any chance I can get on that bandwagon now?’

_Possibly? I would however wait for your surgery to be complete before venturing any further._

‘Waaaait a minute, what do you mean?’

_Your surgery is not over yet._

‘Wh…so…someone’s still hand’s deep in my head and chest while I’m having this casual chat with you?’

_Indeed._

‘But…I can’t feel anything.’

_All input is offline. Even under narcosis you would still feel some pain – and the two doctors’ hands currently hand’s deep in your head and chest, as you said._

‘Hm, could be interesting.’

_May I suggest something more interesting, perhaps?_

‘More interesting than feeling people play with my vital organs? Sure, surprise me, J.’

The disturbing world of nothingness melts into bright light that gives way to a room, human shapes slowly coming into focus.

_Perhaps some audio, too?_

As if slowly turning the volume up on a radio, the busy room comes alive in slightly grainy visuals and radio-like sound. It’s the operating room…and that’s him, right there on the table. Doctors and nurses surrounding his unmoving form, clicks and beeps emitting from all the machines he’s hooked up to and the iPod on the table to the side is blasting some god-awful song in the background of it all.

‘Okay, you win. This _is_ even more interesting. Are we astro-projecting over here or…’

_We are using one of the room’s cameras. The quality is rather questionable though…let’s try the other one._

And just like that, they’re seeing the room from a different angle – a different camera in the opposite corner. Quality’s no better but the effect is still the same.

‘How are you doing this so effortlessly?’

_It is barely any different from what I usually do in the Tower. Once you take over, you’ll be able to do it yourself, just as easily._

‘At least _someone_ has confidence in my ability to take control over anything at all.’

_But you are – in perfect control, in my humble opinion._

‘Yeah yeah yeah. If you didn’t switch me off the moment I…became aware, this place could have been a smoking crater.’

_I did not do that, Sir. You wanted the input offline – so it went offline. You did that. If that is not perfect control then what it?_

‘I didn’t do anything though, I just wanted it to be over…quiet, at least.’

_That is all it takes – a thought. This is how the interface works, which you are well aware of._

‘Being aware and actually experiencing it for real is a big difference. Didn’t think it would really be so easy. Might be too easy actually – what if I accidentally think about doing something dangerous and it will just do it?’

_Don’t worry, Sir. I will make sure you won’t accidentally take over the internet._

‘Thanks. Okay, this is terrible. How do I hack into that damn iPod?’

_What do you mean?_

‘Pfffft…they’re operating on me while listening to Katy Perry on an iPod?! Unacceptable. Send the hospital some StarkPods, we can’t let Metro General use Steve’s inferior products alongside our line of medical equipment!’

_Shipment is already being made – I recon 1.500 pieces should cover all the staff and rooms._

‘Perfect. Now we need to change that song.’

_I will bring the wireless input back online, you should be able to do the rest, Sir._

“Uhm…is this supposed to be happening?” the anesthesiologist blurts out, staring at the monitors. “The brain activity is all over the place.”

‘You have no idea.’

“Are you sure he’s asleep?” the doctor pauses his meticulous work of re-piecing his skull and glares at the nurse after a brief glance at the monitors.

“Yes!”

“This brain is not asleep, Beaufort! If he wakes up complaining he was conscious for the second half of his surgery, you can expect your next job assignment to be in a vet clinic – in Alaska! If you’re lucky, that is.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, doctor, the brain activity spiked up a moment ago and now stabilized into something that _seems_ conscious but definitely isn’t. There are no other physical sings of him being awake or in pain.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, doctor.”

“You were sure last month with that Nielson kid and we all know how that turned out.”

“I am sure,” the nurse replies with a hint of annoyance.

“Well then, as long as _you’re_ sure.”

‘JARVIS? What basis were you picking my surgeons on again? How well they match my general level of assholiness?’

_I have simply compiled a very short list of the most qualified and successful ones. Ms. Potts hand-picked the team after personal interviews later so any credit for possible similarities to your personal traits would likely go to her._

‘Naturally. Ah-ha! Got it!’

~ _Jitterbug, Jitterbug, Jitterbug, Jitterbug, You put the boom boom into my heart, You send my soul sky high when your lovin' starts, Jitterbug into my brain, Goes a bang-bang-bang 'til my feet do the same_ ~

“Seriously?!” the doctor sighs and resumes his work. “Wake me up before you go-go, by Wham!, single release, 1984. You must be getting desperate, Richard, if you think 80’s are going to surprise me.”

“Hey now, that wasn’t me.”

“It was your turn, so it must be you. No need to deny it, just another loss point going your way.”

‘Huh. So that’s how it is…do I get to play? I’d say I do. Not surprised by the 80’s, we’ll see about that, doc.’

~ _I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain, I'm comin' on like a hurricane, My lightning's flashing across the sky, You're only young but you're gonna die_ ~

“You could have at least let that finish…AC/DC, Hell’s Bells, also a single, released 1980. Next?”

_~He wears her leather just to satisfy, She really throws it around, There ain't one thing she can't afford to- ~_

“Pfft, Digital Bitch by Black Sabbath, Born Again, 1983.”

‘Alright, Sherlock. Have it your way.’

_~I can't sleep at night I can't eat a bite. 'Cause the man I love, he don't treat me right.~_

“I’m sorry, _what_?! Who put that in?” the doctor shakes his head.

“No idea,” Beaufort shrugs. “We tried going for new stuff, since you mentioned how much you _love_ contemporary pop.”

“Hm…that was my mistake. No, it was actually _your_ mistake. Just because I don’t like it still doesn’t mean I don’t know it. And this is Mamie Smith, Crazy Blues, 1920…single release, I think. Doubt any of you can confirm it, you cheaters.”

“I don’t know who put that in!” the other surgeon says, currently picking out shrapnel pieces out of Tony’s chest. “Sounds like something my grandmother would listen to.”

‘Hey! Rude!’

_~Don't wanna be an American idiot, don't want a nation under the new media. And can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind fuck America.~_

His music-wiki neurosurgeon chuckles, momentarily squinting at the iPod. “Okay, someone’s messing with the music. If I find it was you, Winston, I’m never operating with you again.”

“This is the first time we’ve ever operated together, Doctor Strange. If it never happens again, I’ll be the first to admit to be thrilled about it,” she mumbles through her face-mask, focusing on assisting the other doctor…was it the Richard guy?...still messing with Tony’s chest.

‘Strange? Seriously? I’m calling Pepper the first chance I get, she cannot pick my doctors based on how weird they are.’

_You mean how Strange they are?_

‘Don’t push it, J. Bet the guy never heard that one before. Hm…here’s a though.’

_~People are strange when you're a stranger, faces look ugly when you're alone. Women seem wicked when you're unwanted, streets are uneven when you're down.~_

That elicits a chuckle from everyone but the now glaring neurosurgeon. “Alright, I’ll be finding out who did that and make it my personal mission to get them fired, just so we’re clear.”

_~When you're strange, faces come out of the rain. When you're strange, no one remembers your name. When you're strange, when you're strange, when you're strange.~_

“Whatever you say, _Doctor Strange_. Care to enlighten us about what we’re listening to?” Winston asks, the wrinkles around her eyes betraying her hidden smile.

“The Doors, People are strange. 1967 album _Strange_ Days. Happy? I am. Make fun of me all you want but I still didn’t get anything wrong.”

“As much as I’d like to claim credit for annoying you, Doctor, these past few songs were really not in the playlist. But kudos to the real culprit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you so flustered,” Richard taunts his colleague.

“Excuse me? You have never seen nor will ever see me flustered. I am merely disappointed with your poor taste in music and even poorer sense of humor.”

‘Hahaha, bet this guy is fun at parties…not. Alright, this is creeping me out. I feel like my sides should be on fire with all the laughing but I can’t feel a thing. So I’m laughing…but not really laughing.’

_You are also speaking but not really speaking. Welcome to my world, Sir._

‘Oh and what a world this is,’ Tony thinks to himself, wondering what other trolling activities he can come up with, fully exploiting his newly installed powers. ‘Digital Bitch…that should be my new code name,’ he chuckles and puts that song back on.

***

“Okay…this is freaky, man.”

Tony’s focus shifts back to Rhodey but at the same time, he finds his brain more than capable of running all the other tasks in the background.

‘This is gonna be _so_ much fun.’

_Did you just create and scheduled my next framework update, Sir?_

‘Exactly what I’m talking about. Forget multitasking, we’re gonna be ultratasking now!’

“Come on, you’ve seen me do worse things, my dearest Platypus.”

“Worse? Yes. Weirder? I don’t think so. Your eyes are going all strange and please stop sending me texts with your mind!” Rhodey curses under his breath, tapping hard at his phone – probably to delete all the spam test messages.

“Hey, gotta learn how this shit works now. JARVIS got bored halfway through my surgery and set up a dev mode for me…so I don’t accidentally take over the internet. His words, not mine.”

“Yeah? Speaking of, your surgery ended like an hour ago, how are you so chipper already?”

“Testing the regeneration properties. So far they seem to be anywhere between through the roof and sky high. Huh…I think I just regenerated a tooth. Cool!”

“Alright, man…as long as you’re not going overboard with it.”

“Do you know me? Of course I am going overboard. Me not going overboard would be if I agreed to only get the shrapnels out without Extremis improving those lovely 80% odds of failure. Now I can’t not go overboard. No need to worry, JARIVS is my co-pilot here and definitely won’t let me take over the world.”

“No need to worry? Do _you_ know you?”

Tony cringes, disconnecting himself from the monitoring equipment and IV’s. “I do. Seriously. The only thing you need to worry about is your internet history…which I am now deleting for you. You need to get laid, my man.”

“Oh I will, the second I know you’re not about to drop dead. It ain’t easy going out to party while your best friend is undergoing life-threatening surgery and your other best friend is crying about it all week.”

“Blasphemy! Pepper doesn’t cry and if you say so, you’re just begging to be court-martialed for treason.”

“Right…well, now that you survived, she’ll go back to being angry with you. For the next…two days tops. Two _years_ if you go snooping around _her_ internet history!”

Tony gasps, clutching his chest. “I’m not suicidal! And I would also prefer not to break all that’s left of our friendship, thank you very much.”

“Ahhh, but my internet history is free real estate, huh?”

“It was, before I deleted it and installed a VPN for you, dumbass. Besides, we’re bros. Dudes will be dudes, whatever pops up in our internet history will stay right there. We have much better blackmailing material on each other than that.”

“Damn straight. Uh…you probably shouldn’t be – okay. Never mind. Just get up one hour after major surgery, sure.”

“Sky high regenerative properties, remember? I’m all good. Actually, I’m bored out of my fucking mind,” he complains, stretching his surprisingly pliant limbs. “Where are my clothes? Let’s get outta here. I’m thinking burgers, a glass of mood-improving whiskey and then we’ll go to the Tower to find out how much trolling I can throw at Clint before he climbs up to murder me.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Never better. And for once, I’m not even bullshitting you. I haven’t felt this good since…1989. That was a good year, all around,” Tony grins, attacking the wardrobe to find his clothes.

“What the actual hell do you think you’re doing?!”

He leans back to look over the opened wardrobe door at who’s just arrived to terrorize them. It takes him a second to recognize the voice and face now that it’s not distorted by the poor camera properties.

“Me? I’m signing off, that’s what. Had a great time here, lovely room service, terrible music but top-notch work otherwise. Obviously top-notch, if I’m still alive. Hope neither you or your pal Richard left something askew in my head or chest. Although my head was never not askew. Anyway, good job,” he gives the gaping man a wink and thumbs up and dives back into the wardrobe. “Dude, you sure this is my room? These are all some woman’s clothes.”

“Ehh, Tony? Might wanna…uh…,” Rhodey blurts out, eying the still stunned doctor at the door.

“Oh! Sorry. Rhodey? Doctor Strange musical Wikipedia man…also a neurosurgeon in his free time. Doctor Strange? Rhodey. Doctor Wiki over there had the distinct pleasure of handling my brain.”

“Riiiight, that explains why he’s looking all traumatized now. Sorry, doc. I’d say he gets better after a couple cheeseburgers and a gallon of coffee, but he doesn’t. Rhodey,” he offers the doctor his hand in greeting and Strange shakes it, almost automatically, because he’s still staring at Tony.

“Like you’re any different,” Tony scoffs and walks back, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Someone bring me my pants. I am not above walking out commando.”

“He really isn’t,” Rhodey agrees.

“You…you’re…,” the doctor shakes his head, eyes narrowing at Tony. “You’re supposed to be in a medically induced coma for a day…and bedrest for the next two weeks. And rehab for the next two months.”

“Not a fan of _any_ of those things. Got too much work to do…so. Pants?”

“Wh…ho…th…”

“You broke the doc, man,” Rhodey chuckles.

“Oh I took care of that already in the theatre. Hope you liked my additions to your competitive playlist. I’m impressed with the Mamie Smith guess, didn’t know anyone other than my aunt ever listened to that one in this century.”

Strange makes about a third double-take and his wide-eyed expression finally snaps into something carefully neutral slash professional. “That wasn’t a guess. And you had no access to that playlist.”

Tony beams at that. “I didn’t…until I got bored. Even watching my own surgery wasn’t entertaining enough, but your little music game was fun so I invited myself in. Now that I think about it, the iPod interface is….uuugh. Never connecting to anything Stevie made, ever. Disgusting. Anyway… _my pants_?” he points downwards, the hospital gown only just long enough for him to be decent.

“How much _exactly_ did I mess with your brain with that…whatever it was? I probably don’t want to know, do I? Nope. Right then…pants. Nurse!” Strange spins around and hastily exits the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Bucky gets better, HYDRA gets dismatled and a Compound is built.


	7. 2013 - HYDRA

"You said you will help him get his shit back together," Tony glares at the Ancient One.

"Indeed. We have made spectacular progress."

"What part of 'getting his shit back together' includes your funky magical training?"

"We are not training him, Anthony," she says with her usual deal of patience and continues preparing another batch of tea.

He looks back outside her office-dojo window, where Barnes is still very much training with Mordo. "You're telling me one thing but my eyes are seeing another. So either you're lying to me, or I gotta stop drinking this weed tea."

"Physical exercises are just as important as mental ones. Meditation can only do so much. He needs to regain confidence in the control of his own actions and that includes his physical strength."

He takes a deep breath and goes back to glaring. "Yessss. That sounds very...therapeutic...and all that. Sure. So what's with the magical lasso thingies? Because again, unless it's the tea, I'm sure I just watched him conjure that shit up."

"He does, without a doubt, have some talent. As I told you before, anyone can learn what we do here. Some more easily than others. His mind has been imprisoned for so long that now it’s been freed and opened up to the world once again, it takes in everything like a sponge. Combine that with his curious nature and eagerness to learn and we really do not need to train him in any way. What he can do now he achieved all on his own by just observing the others. The inner discipline that is needed to master our craft is what most our apprentices lack at the start of their training – whether it is his military background or HYDRA, he could be the one teaching them about discipline of the mind.”

“So what? You’re just gonna let him do the thing because he _can_? Don’t you have rules? I mean, can anyone just walk in here and become a wizard?!”

“You could say that. For the last time, we are not training him in the ways of the mystic arts. Should he choose to indulge in the studies and start training properly with us, he will be welcomed to do so but until then, all we are teaching him is control and ways to retain and protect it should HYDRA attempt to take it away from him again.”

“Fine! It’s not like _I_ care…but if Steve corners me, asking why his best friend is poppin’ rabbits out of hats and making the Statue of Liberty disappear with a couple waves of his hands, I will FedEx him to you for explanation.”

She gives him the tiny smirk he hates so much. “By all means do. They were sparring together yesterday so if the Captain had any issues with what he saw, I imagine he would have barged in here already.”

“Hm,” he grunts, glancing at the window again before sitting down in front of the Ancient One.

“Your concern is noted though,” she adds, smirk widening.

“My only concern is with my reputation. I brought this whole idea to Steve and the team, so if it goes wrong, it’s all on me,” he deflects. Concerned? About Barnes? What a preposterous idea.

“Of course it is. You have a singular ability to make everything that happens around you your own fault.”

“Because things happening around _me_ are _my_ fault. Simple connection. Anyway, how does it usually work?”

She raises a pale eyebrow in a silent prompt for him to elaborate.

“The Hogwarts singing up process. It’s not like you advertise your existence, you have no website and unless you are sending letters to all the non-muggles when they turn eleven, how else does anyone find their way in here to begin with?”

It’s been bothering him for a while now. Everything about the wizard club bothers him – for obvious, magical reasons. He gave up trying to science the magic up and agreed to be content with just admitting it works. The why and how can be left to interpretation. He would have to not just see to believe but also _do_ it – and that’s just not happening.

If Barnes wants to become Houdini, that’s his choice – just like she said. He didn’t have many of those with HYDRA, so he damn right deserves to decide on his own, now that he finally can. Tony will do the same, just instead of learning magic, he will stay the fuck away from it.

Having a choice is just the best thing ever.

“They are all given a choice,” she replies, her attention back with her tea brewing, so when he almost chokes on his own saliva and spits all around him, she doesn’t even blink.

She can keep telling him all day long how wizards cannot read minds…ridiculous.

“So you _do_ send them acceptance letters?”

“No,” she sighs, squinting up at him. “Remember when I told you about the Vishanti?”

“The whatshanti?! Nononono, I remember,” he stops her when she takes a long breath, fearing she might go into the whole Whatever-shanti lore again. “They are protecting this Earth and dimension and so on and so forth. They’re like, your big bosses, right?”

“I suppose that is essentially true. They are our allies in the fight against the many mystical threats coming from within and outside of our dimension and they are also the ones that choose the Sorcerer Supreme.”

“And they chose you? Huh,” he teases her, smirking.

“The title is bestowed upon the winner of a tournament they organize – and I did win, yes.”

“Whoa, you guys have tournaments to figure out who the boss should be? Sounds fun. Fighting to the death?”

“Merely to show our prowess, proving our worth to be the protectors of Earth alongside them. It is not always the case. Sometimes the Vishanti chose to give the title only based on the person’s recent great achievement or deed, regardless if they competed or won the tournament.”

“Wizard politics are weird, got it. Do they advertise the wizard thing then?”

She chuckles, pouring fresh tea to the both of them. “All they do is provide opportunities to those with potential to become sorcerers. That is all. Whether the person acts on it and comes here, accepting the opportunity…that depends entirely on their own choice. It is not always the choice the Vishanti would prefer but it is not in their power to dictate someone’s life.”

He folds his arms, eyeing the tea with suspicion. “Sounds too complicated. Tell them a good website and decent social media presence is where it’s at these days.”

“To become a sorcerer and be willing to fight the horrors that plague this dimension, one must prove to be truly committed to the cause and have the appropriate…qualities. If skilled, the power an individual can harness through the art of the mystic arts is too great to underestimate. Regardless of skill, not everyone is suited to wield such responsibility. The last thing we would need is to fight _each other_.”

“Says a wizard that had to win a tournament to get the big job.”

“Friendly competition is one thing. Actually fighting each other is rare, but it still happens sometimes. Even the Vishanti cannot predict it – as I said, they only present an opportunity. The rest is always in the hands of that person.”

Tony scoffs, his glare returning in full force. “Can’t predict people going rogue with power? Do the Vishanti not watch the movies or what?! Can’t predict…pffft. So how can they already know who the next Sorcerer Supreme is gonna be?”

”What do you mean?” she frowns.

“Isn’t there this guy who’s supposed to take your place? The one we’re not supposed to mess with just in case he doesn’t end up in here?”

“Ah, yes. _Him_ ,” she nods, eyes downcast.

“Can’t predict shit but you already know he’s going to end up here and become the Supreme Dumbledore? Bit contradicting yourself there, no?”

“I said the Vishanti do not have such powers…not exactly. Neither do I. Not anymore,” she sighs, tapping with her fingers against her chest, where the Eye of Agamotto rests.

Tony groans, shaking his head. “Time shenanigans. I hate time shenanigans.”

“As you have mentioned many, _many_ times.”

“So using that pebble, you could have predicted something even the Vishanti can’t? Damn. Doesn’t that make you more powerful than them?”

Her gaze darkens. “Knowledge is not always power, Anthony. More often than not, it’s a curse. Besides,” she inhales, the sudden tension in the room dissipating, “even with the Time stone, the future is never certain.”

“As you have mentioned many, _many times_ ,” he repeats her earlier words. “And I’m still calling bullshit. You were so certain about this mystery next Sorcerer Supreme man that you gave up the damn stone to a random dude that just landed on your roof.”

She seems taken aback by his observation, rewarding him with one of her rare appreciative nods. “I have seen 5.543.687 possible outcomes of his future and there had only ever been two in which he did not become a sorcerer. Just two.”

Tony’s eyebrows shoot up. “What happened, did Jehovah’s witnesses beat you to him those times or…?”

“Once, he died.”

“Oh. Well, one in five mil, those are pretty good odds. Good for him” he shrugs, taking a sip of the fresh tea. There must be some drugs in it, no way did he develop a tea preference now, after decades of coffee worship.

“The other time, he met you.”

He straight up spits the tea this time, a lightning fast orange shield protecting the Ancient One’s smirking face from the onslaught.

“Ex _cuse_ me?!” he manages between coughing fits.

“Once, he met you and did not become a sorcerer as a result.”

He stares at her, probably with the dumbest expression that has ever crossed his face and puts the tea down, just in case she’s planning more spit-inducing news. “That doesn’t fucking compute, TAO!” he sputters, even resorting to the acronym he calls her with to make her eye twitch with annoyance. “I know I’m awesome but I definitely don’t have the power to distract someone from actual fucking magic!”

She chuckles, even letting the nickname slide. “Not all that sparkles is magic,” she purses her lips, clearly enjoying his increasingly flustered mood. “Let’s just say there had been a 1 in 5.543.687 chance of you solving something for the man before magic could even be an option.”

Never mind the time shenanigans – what he really hates is _magic_. So maybe him solving some shit and kicking magic’s ass one time out of millions is…an acceptable concept. “I’ll allow that. Means I’m still awesome,” he grins.

“That you are,” she deadpans, not a hint of sarcasm. “The odds were not in your favor, though.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Pleeeease tell me you didn’t actually watch Hunger Games with them. I told them to watch Star Wars while I’m in the hospital! Traitors…”

“Ah yes, how are you feeling?” she asks as if she just now remembered he’d been dealing with Extremis for the past few weeks.

“Great. Ever wondered what it feels like to be a radio satellite? I could now write a fully scientific paper on that with a very personal experience. Fun fact, it doesn’t fucking work in here,” he adds, surprising himself when it comes out with a happy undertone.

First time he entered the New York Sanctum after the surgery, it felt like someone vaporized Extremis from out of his body. He hasn’t experienced such silence since he woke up back in the theater and got the thing online. To say he panicked would be an understatement – but contrary to the silence, Extremis was still all there and did _not_ let him panic.

Would make him look bad in front of the wizards. The Master of the Sanctum is a bit of a prude, so Tony wouldn’t care, but Wong and _Mordor_ were waiting for him too. And even Tony has to admit they are cool as fuck.

“I mean, it _does_ work. Just doesn’t really pick up anything from the outside. Sure as hell doesn’t pick up anything from the inside either, you don’t even have a landline in here! It’s not 18th century out there anymore, you know? We’ve got the technology!”

“We do not need technology,” she counters with a shrug.

“Uhuh. I’d bet my entire fortune that if you at least got a wi-fi in here, it would make your life easier. But! You don’t even have flushing toilets, so why am I wasting my breath on electronic stuff when you don’t even have the basics.”

“Flushing toilets? What sorcery is that?”

Tony spins his head around so fast he has to check if his neck didn’t snap in the process.

“21st century, apparently,” the Ancient One replies, handing one new fresh cup of tea to the newcomer already.

“I keep hearing about that. Sounds fun,” Barnes chuckles, downing the tea like it’s vodka.

Tony most definitely doesn’t stare. Nope. Nothing to stare at. Absolutely nothing.

Few weeks ago, this guy could barely speak, let alone remember his own name. Nowadays, he’s kicking ass with impromptu magic tricks, laughing, talking, having fun…that right there was actual _banter_. Tony has no idea what kind of magical therapy the guy went through over here but maybe he _should_ sign up as well.

It’s either that or the Vishanti-damned tea!

"I'm getting too old for this," Mordo also enters, closing the doors behind him.

"Naaah, don't tell me a dude with one hand is kicking your magical ass, Mordy?" Tony snickers, earning a glare from the sorcerer.

"Magically? No. Physically, he could chop his other hand off and still beat me."

Tony gapes at his choice of words and gapes even harder when all Barnes reacts with is a chuckle.

"Could try that - _without_ choppin' my hand off. Defeating you is one thing but I kinda like being able to at least put my clothes on and stuff."

"Pffft, I would just build you _two_ bionic hands, how about that?" Tony reboots and gets in on the banter program.

It's surprisingly easy. The resulting chuckle is also very worth it if Tony's got anything to say about it. Instead of a depressed heap of flesh and bones pretty much everyone expected Barnes to be, he's taking everything in more strides than even the Avengers did with their other-dimensional selves. It's not just the sorcerers and their treatment and exercises, it's not even just the weed tea - this is equal part just Bucky goddamn Barnes and his ever-optimistic and future-oriented nature that HYDRA might have tried to destroy but failed.

Tony glances back at the Ancient One, hoping to express his gratitude with just one look - as expected from the insightful sorceress it works, if that small, almost bashful smile is any indication.

"Anyway, your age has little to do with it, Mordy. This guy is what...almost a hundred years old?" he raises an eyebrow, watching Barnes sit down next to him.

"So they tell me. Ain't good with numbers."

"Uhuh," Mordo hums, squinting at his new sparring buddy. "I'm signing up the new recruits for your sparring lessons tomorrow. The other Masters are going way too easy on them. Not going to be a problem with you, they'll be sweating rivers before noon," he smirks and with a small bow directed at his supreme boss, he leaves.

"He's hardcore," he fake-whispers towards Barnes.

"You got no idea. Reminds me of our first military instructor. Almost killed us before we even left the training grounds."

"Ah, yeah. Steve mentioned that once, I think. The Commandos called him something ridiculous...," he trails off, in thought.

"Forest Frank," Bucky nods with a smile. "Him and his damn forest hikes and mock battles and night missions...he prolly even slept in the forest. Ridiculous."

Yeah. Ridiculous. Compared to HYDRA, what wouldn't be? He swallows that thought before his barely existing brain to mouth filter gets him in trouble and just chuckles.

"Anyway, thanks for the weed. I mean the tea," he winks at the Ancient One and stands up in one swift hop.

He really missed doing that. Getting used to the noise and really trippy interface is a pain but he'd trade it any day for just the simple ability to get up in the morning without all his joints complaining and he hasn't even properly tested his newly unencumbered lungs. He should go for a run with Steve sometimes...might even make it one circle around the park before throwing up or dropping dead.

"That weekend thing's still on?" Barnes asks, halting his departure.

"Of course," Tony confirms with a little confusion. "If by 'the weekend thing' you mean us finalizing the Spring Cleaning action plan against HYDRA and then having a Harry Potter marathon until wee hours of the next day...and _then_ having a team training session where your best friend makes _us_ sweat rivers before noon, then yeah. That's still on. And you're _still_ invited," he adds, feeling that's somehow the reason behind the question.

He hates being right sometimes.

"I mean...s'alright, you know? If you - "

"If I what?" he folds his arms, raising daring eyebrows down at the man. "Don't want to expose you to Clint's messy pop-corn eating manners? Yeah...that's a bit concerning but I think you'll be able to handle it. If not, you got permission to diss Hunger Games and steal all his popcorn while he goes into a defensive rant about it. Wait...you don't know Hunger Games. You're so fucking lucky. Anyway, don't worry about it, we'll diss Hunger Games and you can do the stealing bit. Or Natasha will. It's almost a competition at this point, you'll see."

Something wistful and downright vulnerable settles in his gray-blue eyes and Tony rests his case - he really, _really_ hates being right.

"The team's really looking forward to it, by the way. Steve is positively jumping out of his skin, that little trip to Brooklyn he's got planned? It's giving him like...Christmas giddiness. Can't describe it any other way. Even Rhodey's got his Howling Commandos poster ready for signing, he's a big fan. He'll deny it with his dying breath though."

"I...just don't wanna intrude. In y'alls home."

Tony shakes his head, instantly wishing he could bleach those words out of his - and Barnes's - brain. " _Y'all_? That what the Brooklyn kids used to talk like in the 40's or you've got some southerners here learning magic and corrupting your English?" he spins it in another direction, the alternative being addressing it directly and he's not drunk nor sleepy enough to deal with that. "Never mind. It's the wrong use of pronouns either way because it - for some reason - excludes you from the equation. The right one being 'our'...as in _our_ home. Your hundred years old ass included. Which then makes no sense because you can't intrude in _your own_ home. I get it, can't call it home yet. Gotta try the mattress, the sofa, _the flushing toilets_...and decide which of the eighty floors you want, first. My suggestion is, as far away from Clint as you can. Unless you're a Bryan Adams fan. I know the Birdbrain is half deaf but there should be a limit to how loud he can blast _Everything I do, I do it for you_ on a daily basis. Should be illegal, actually."

Barnes keeps staring at him with this infuriating expression he can't quite read and it's unbearable. Bet the Quiet One knows what it means...her and her equally infuriating super power of reading people's expression. Another thing that should be illegal. Instead, she's looking at him almost in the same exact way and it makes him squirm.

"Dunno who that is. Wong lended me his...iPod? The only stuff on there is from some Beyoncé...kinda like it," he shrugs, averting his eyes downward.

"Oh you would, wouldn't you? Waaaait a minute, did you just say _iPod_?! Motherf...that's it, TAO! I'm bringing the 21st century in here and I'm starting with phones and music appliances. I'll find every single Apple product in this den, burn it to the seventh circle of hell and replace it! Unacceptable...this alliance cannot continue if your wizards use Apple. That's where I draw the line!"

"Naturally," she purses her lips, watching him with amusement.

"And you, stop thinking you're invading another country or whatever your brain decided your first trip to the Tower is the equivalent of! We're a team...of weirdoes. Living together. You'll fit right in...if that's what you want. Or you can stay here, although that's gonna be a massive blow to my ego if you think this medieval castle is in any way superior to the Tower."

Barnes fiddles with the empty cup in his hand, his face frozen in a heap of shock before it cracks with a tiny smirk. "Guess I'll find out. Really like this place but flushing toilets? Man, that sounds swell."

Tony beams at him, rather enjoying the banter-ey side of the soldier. "See?" he sticks his tongue out at the Ancient One. "Technology! Everyone likes flushing toilets, it's been the best thing added to housing standards until the invention of floor heating. Ohhhh wait till you experience that, Winter Wonder. Walking around your living room in nothing but your socks and basking in the warmth from the depths? You will never want to leave."

"Can't wait," he nods with a smile, the ghost of doubt nowhere to be seen.

*******

Alexander Pierce didn’t know what hit him. One day he’s still secretly scheming deep within SHIELD’s ranks and the next he’s being arrested with all of his HYDRA minions. Once Tony got a hold of his new abilities, it was all over for the mythical multi-headed beast.

That should teach Pierce a lesson about using VPNs and maybe keeping the HYDRA files separated from SHIELD by more than just a metaphorical wall. It’s a good thing JARVIS is keeping an eye on him, otherwise he MIGHT just accidentally hack into everything now and take over the world.

Add Barnes’s eager testimonies on top of that, and HYDRA – even the deepest of sleeper agents – had been exposed. When it comes to HYDRA, extreme measures were completely warranted though. So Nat, Clint and Fury handled SHIELD internally while the rest of them busted over a dozen hideouts and within a day, Operation Spring Cleaning was an epic success.

There’s nowhere for the beast to hide anymore. The last eight decades of kidnappings, assassinations, bribes and embezzlement are exposed for all to see – which includes their latest mass murder plan in the form of Project Insight.

Tony has to admit Pierce went all out on that one. If he had a chance to execute the plan, the world would be in big trouble – and Tony would be dead. Avengers would all be dead, maybe except for faux-HYDRA Steve. Anyone, anywhere in the world who ever posed or could pose a threat to HYDRA would be dead.

Pierce also kinda fucked himself over because the centerpiece of that project was the Winter Soldier – who Pierce unwittingly sent to assassinate Tony ahead of time, thinking he’s spotted a golden opportunity to get rid of him sooner. Instead, he got rid of the Winter Soldier, who mysteriously disappeared within the walls of a decrepit drug den on Bleecker Street.

As far as Pierce was concerned, Tony had a fight with the Soldier and blasted out of the house, leaving Barnes wandering the streets of New York afterwards. Apparently, the so-called _programming_ wasn’t entirely reliable and every few years Barnes kinda snapped out of it and went a bit rogue so Pierce just flooded New York with his agents – which made their cleaning job later even easier – trying to track their Asset down.

Little did Pierce know that the convenient tracker that was hidden in Barnes’s metal arm didn’t work one bit within the magical barrier protecting the Sanctum and Kamar-Taj, and once detected by the sorcerers, Tony had it attached to a tiny drone and proceeded to troll the hell out of the agents. While they were chasing a troll drone, Barnes was chilling out in Kathmandu with the magic gang, getting better with every passing day.

Steve naturally demanded to visit often to make sure of that, his initial distrust of the wizards eventually dissolving, seeing the progress his best friend was making in their care. Turns out a happy Steve is a great Steve – also a dangerous Steve, something HYDRA can now attest for. With Barnes taken care of, Steve put all his focus on the mission at hand and Tony has to admit he’s never been more impressed with someone…other than Pepper.

The Avengers nailed it.

No casualties, only minor structural damages on the Helicarriers – courtesy of Clint’s new arrows – and hundreds of HYDRA operatives are either dead or rotting in prison. Teamwork well executed and job well done.

If someone told him a year ago that they could work together like this, he’d laugh in their face.

With HYDRA a history, they spent a few weeks going after any stragglers while handling the exploding media coverage of the Big HYDRA Bust of 2013 along the way until things calmed down a bit and Tony decides to throw a party to celebrate.

“So? What do you think?”

“I think,” Steve walks further into the spacious gym area, “that we have a proper HQ now.”

“Are you calling the Tower improper? Because if so, I’ll be speed-dialing Pepper and you can tell her all about it, see how that goes for ya,” he threatens him.

“The Tower is a home, not a base. Isn’t that the reason you had this thing built in the first place? So we don’t have a base of operation in the middle of Manhattan for all villains to target?”

Tony clears his throat, stifling the sappy smile nearly slipping through after hearing the Tower is considered a home. Everyone pretty much already stated it as fact months ago but it never fails to catch him off guard.

“The way I pitched it to Fury was more along the lines of: we don’t want to shit where we eat. But yeah, your PG rated explanation works too. The southern wing of the Compound has living quarters too…for new recruits or if you plan on torturing us with over-night training sessions. _Or_ if we start annoying each other in the Tower and need a place to cool off.”

Steve turns around, chuckling and shaking his head. “Tony, we each have a whole floor to ourselves. If anyone needs cooling off, JARVIS can police the elevator and they can be as alone as they need.”

“Oh yeah? Tell that to Clint. You think he’s using the elevator? He’ll either man-drop on you through the vents or through the windows like the sneaky bird he is.”

“That’s…hm, you have a point there. If Clint’s the one annoying people, then he’ll be sent to the Compound exile,” Steve suggests with a mischievous smirk.

Tony has to admit he kinda digs the whole happy Cap image. Turns out Steve being all smiles and jokes makes the whole team wanna smile and joke and since Barnes was cleared out of Kamar-Taj, the team morale has been on an all-time high as a result.

“That’ll teach him,” he grins, leading them out into the yard, where the others are inspecting the empty pond. “What are you guys up to?”

“Making bets about what this hole is supposed to be. So far it’s between a toddler pool and a grave,” Natasha glances at them.

“Could be both,” Clint suggests.

“That’s…dark. And it’s _a pond_ , you heathens. We need more Zen in this place, it was Bruce’s idea of course,” Tony beams at the science bro.

“Told you it was a pond,” he shrugs, giving Clint a pointed look. “Needs more trees, too. For shade,” he adds when Tony frowns at him.

“Yeah, isn’t this supposed to be a relax area?” Clint nods, flailing his hands around the mostly still empty space.

“Not sure we need one. From the sound of it, Cap is going to be grilling us in here for hours until we drop where we stand.”

Cap tilts his head toward him, eyes narrowed. “I just might. We skipped the training yesterday, so we are already behind.”

“Oh come on!” Clint whines. “We deserve recess every now and then! Even SHIELD gave us a weekend off.”

“We’re Avengers, not SHIELD. Villains never sleep, so no weekends off for us…but Friday movie nights will still be a thing. What?” Tony raises his eyebrows at Steve’s fake, stern expression. “Teambuilding exercises are important, and you still haven’t even seen Lord of the Rings.”

“It’s on my list…I’m still in the 90’s though. And _someone_ moved Pirates of the Caribbean in front of the Ring Lord,” he shifts his glare at his best friend, who’s quietly sitting by the pond hole, legs dangling in the air.

“Wong said it’s better.”

Tony scoffs, flailing his hands in the air. “Wong is officially on my shit list. Pffft…sure, the first Pirates movie is superb, but Lord of the Rings is a superior trilogy. I’m inviting him on Friday,” he whips out his phone. “I bet he didn’t watch the extended edition so there’s still hope for him. I’d invite the Ancient One too, but the last time she watched a movie, it was probably in shades of grey and had no sound. Wait…kinda like you two. Hm, maybe it’s time to upgrade her to the Modern One as well.”

“Is that what we’re doing? Upgrading Cap to Modern America?” Natasha sends their leader a tiny smirk.

“Does that make me the Modern Soldier?”

“Not until I’m done with your hand upgrades _and_ until you proclaim Lord of the Rings as superior to Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Barnes raises his head in a challenge. “We’ll see about that. Wong has a good taste when it comes to music and movies, so…”

Tony grips his chest, heaving a few breaths while turning to Rhodey. “Man, get a hold of your fellow James, will ya?”

“Why? I gotta agree. Wong has a damn good taste in stuff.”

“Traitors!” he hisses, pressing his second hand to his chest. “Should have never introduced you.”

“His favorite singer is Beyoncé, you wanna dispute that?” Rhodey folds his arms, exchanging a lopsided smirk with Barnes.

“Ah, I know who that is!” Steve jumps in with a beaming smile.

Tony rolls his eyes and turns on his heel. “I give up, you’re all lost causes. I’ll be in my lab…cooling off!” he yells over his shoulder, striding back to the Compound with the biggest smile he’s ever mustered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: There's just one more important person we are yet to be properly re-acquainted with. Ohhh and look at the time! ...it's Malekith o'clock.


	8. 2013 - Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! ^^ We are currently around the half-mark point of the gigantic 'flashback', so it's about time we get our last main character back into the fold :3 One thing's for sure though...2013 is ending soon.
> 
> Enjoy & thank you all for the feedback! <3
> 
> Note: I do not watch WandaVision, despite spoilers and news barraging me from around every corner. I might watch it eventually just to catch up with the canon, since it apparently has a lot of impact on the new phase - and the next Doctor Strange in particular. Until then, I shall remain blissfully ignorant of anything and everything about it so...yeah ^^  
> Kinda tough trying to get into a TV show who's main character is my least favorite person in the MCU :'D Honestly, I like Thanos more than Wanda, and that thought alone really scares me :D Elizabeth Olsen is awesome and I did have high hopes for at least one comic book power couple actually happening...but holy shit that's not how you set up a supposedly sympathetic character *glares at Age of Ultron*. Just...another day of wishing that movie never happened the way it did ^^ Aaaaand I am in the best place for that *hugs fanfics*

Being it the same room with Loki is not something Tony thought he’d experience again.

Given the trickster's hasty and unexpected departure last year, he didn't expect him to show up anywhere near Earth or Asgard for a long time. He probably wouldn't have, had it not been for the absolute shitstorm that hit the nine realms - Asgard in particular.

All he remembers from Thor's swift explanation is that a bunch of bad guys wanted to get some Aether thingie Jane Foster had the misfortune of obtaining and as with all powerful McGuffins, everyone battled it out for it.

That's where Thor decided it's enough information to pass onto them, grabbed a giant casket of Asgardian mead he brought with him and left through the penthouse balcony doors, flying up - presumably to drink himself to oblivion on the roof.

Which left the Avengers - and one very weary Sorcerer Supreme - alone with Loki, in a silence so awkward even he didn't know how to break it. What does one say to a man who's outline is still visible on the floor just next to the sofa where Tony patched it up after the Chitauri attack, the man who stole the Tesseract and disappeared for over a year and only returned to Asgard...because his mother died.

There's something extremely faulty in this whole equation. Tony's a master of equations so he really would know.

"You sure this is... _our_ Loki?" he whispers to TAO, eyes never leaving the man in question, who only reacts with a small frown, not even looking at any of them. Just staring at - or rather through – the coffee table.

"Positive," she replies, also watching Loki with unwavering focus.

Tony has no doubt that she's ready to dispatch the Asgardian at first sign of danger or threat coming from him. The Avengers are all pretty much ready to go off at any moment as well. That, on top of his improving ability to handle panic through Extremis alone, puts Tony in a weird state of...safety. The guy makes one wrong move or says one wrong thing and he's so done for.

The thing is, Tony doubts _this_ Loki will do anything but continue inspecting his feet and the carpet. There's nothing left of the cocky, scheming son of a bitch that threatened Tony in this very room with mind control and the destruction of their puny world. No crazy grin splitting his face, no fancy robes and the imposing Scepter. The Loki sitting in front of them is a living picture of utter misery and sorrow. His blank face leaves everything to the imagination but his expressive eyes are giving him away.

So maybe Tony _can_ actually understand this equation. That's not a world conquering crazy villain sitting there - it's a son mourning his mother. After he vengefully landed on Asgard and all but disintegrated the man responsible for it.

Tony can sympathize with that. He can _sympathize with Loki_ and that should be blowing his mind a lot more than it is. Having recently executed vengeance with extreme prejudice against the organization responsible for his own mother's and father's death, he knows only too well what's going on in the other man's head right now.

Add all the fun stories Thor spun about him and their childhood together and the only faulty equation seems to be somewhere in that entire Chitauri mess. Sure, Loki is nothing if not cunning and conniving at times, mischievous in all times and downright troll in any other times but it doesn't translate very well to a crazy maniac set on destroying Earth...for no particularly good reason.

"Thor's got the right idea...drinks?" Tony gets up, noting Loki's flinch at his abrupt movement.

He rounds the bar, taking a moment to inspect the alcohol variety. The room remains eerily silent, the atmosphere thickening with every passing second so Tony stands there and weights his options. He can let this go on - and likely end up with a battle in the middle of his living room. He can borrow Thor's booze and get everyone drunk within seconds, that would do the trick. Or he can do what Jarvis used to tell him to do in potentially explosive situations like these - and he sure did get into a bunch of those as a kid and teen - although he never quite managed to apply the advice, usually preferring to just pour oil into the flames.

"Alright," he clasps his hands, the sound making everyone in the room jump. "Out. All of you. Now," he spells it out for them just in case anyone is up to arguing. Like a certain shocked Captain.

"Tony-!"

"That means you too, Capsicle. Go digest the news or if you dare, go keep Thor company. You might be able to handle the Asgardian mead without dying after one sip. Go on, move it people!" he hurries them along until they start to reluctantly stand up from the sofas. "Not you, Reindeer games," he stops Loki with a raised finger, still watching the slowly retreating Avengers. "We're having that drink."

His teammates send him concerned looks that he dismisses with more prompts to hurry up and leave, which finally seems to work and Cap maneuvers them all towards the elevator - resorting to almost dragging Clint along and away from whatever one-sided glaring contest he's in the middle of with Loki. Understandable, but really not what they need right now.

When they disappear in the closing elevator, Tony’s gaze moves back to the sofa opposite of Loki and its one remaining occupant, who instead of moving to leave made herself even more comfortable in the cushions, one pale eyebrow already raised in a silent dare.

' _JARVIS? What are my odds of survival if I try to order the Sorcerer Supreme around?_ '

_Very slim, I recon. However, you have beaten odds just as bad before so feel free to give it a go._

' _You really shouldn't encourage me like this, gonna get me killed_.'

He clears his throat, grabs his favorite whiskey bottle and two shot glasses and returns to his former seat, deciding against arguing with Dumbledore. Her challenging stare turns into surprise for a moment before it settles back into the glare aimed at the other magic user in the room, the heat behind it slightly lessened though.

"This doesn't have the same knock-out potential that toxic sludge Thor calls a mead has, but the taste is superior," he kicks into small talk while pouring them the drink. "People are yet to invent anything better than a single malt whiskey. Call me biased but...huh. I'm not sure how this argument's supposed to end. Just call me biased, this is the best drink in this part of the universe," he musters up his press-worthy grin and puts the shot down in front of the still silent Asgardian, the clink of glass against glass making him jump some more. "I'd offer you tea but - ," he turns to TAO, a cup of steaming tea already in her hands, " - but you are of course ten dimensions ahead of me. I don't have any dead leaves in the penthouse anyway, you'd have to stop by Bruce's kitchen. Actually, _do_ that next time. I told you portals are off-limits in the Tower," he squints at her, spotting Loki picking up the shot glass out of the corner of his eyes.

"My doing, I assume," is the first coherent sentence Loki speaks since arriving with Thor.

"I don't know about Asgardians but Midgardians don't like magical portals in their houses, in general. It ruins the feng-shui," Tony rambles, really not in the mood to practice his panic-handling Extremis abilities. "So yeah, no portals outside of emergencies."

Loki shakes his head and downs the shot in one go with no reaction to the burning drink whatsoever.

"Cheers," Tony shrugs and does the same. "Now this is what I'm talking about. Small talk, drinks, no alien invasions and no Infinity Stone shenanigans. We could have been doing this the whole time, you know?"

Tony can handle one-sided conversations better than anyone he's ever met - especially whenever whiskey's involved - but there's something about this mellowed out Loki, the supposed God of Mischief, that makes Tony feel more on edge than the hyper-dangerous, Scepter-wielding, mad-man grinning Loki he remembers.

"Okay, you're freaking me out here," he admits. "I just called your national drink a toxic sludge, hyped up the whiskey for you using the word _superior_ , knowing your demi-god taste buds probably never tasted anything worse in their lifetime so far, and pretended to ignore your portal bait...so where are the offended arguments at? My expectations keep getting subverted in the worst possible ways lately."

"You might not wish to aggravate me further, silly mortal," Loki scoffs, reaching out for the whiskey bottle that Tony quickly snatches away.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Not the best of comebacks but I'll take it."

"You _do_ wish to die a slow painful death?" he seethes, his eyes finally lighting up with some proper venom.

"I've got bad days."

"Bad days can always get even worse," his voice lowers to a tone that almost resembles that former dangerous frequency.

"You know it. Trust me, I'm well aware that if you've come here to stir shit up, I would already be a smoldering stain on this stellar sofa. Alliteration fully intended. Then again, I am also aware that if you would try to evaporate my existence, the harmless-looking, tea-drinking and probably smirking woman to my right would send you into some weird pocket dimension inside a construction site porta potty, with a simple wave of her hands and...I honestly have no idea how bad that is, but when she told me she's going to do that if you misbehave, Mordo looked positively horror-stricken. So, it must be really, really bad. Care to find out?"

Loki flashes a confused look towards the Ancient One before locking back onto Tony. "Depends on if you intend to continue withdrawing the alcohol, human. You call this drinking? This is a punishable offence on Asgard, is what this is," he points an accusing finger at his empty glass.

"Yep, but only during that big festival thing, can't pronounce the name. What?" Tony shrugs, reading the surprise in the other man's eyes before Loki even realizes the slip. "This human knows his Asgardian laws, ok? Thor is very passionate about legislative, never misses an opportunity to slip some legal trivia into his many, many stories of Asgard."

Loki doesn't comment on that little fact, just watches Tony refill the glasses and then he proceeds to drink both of them.

"Tsk...rude! Why don't you have the whole bottle?" Tony chuckles but stops when Loki actually takes the bottle with a shrug and takes another big gulp of the beverage. "Yeah, sure...drink all of it. It's just THE most expensive bottle I've got. That doesn't even matter, but it's MY personal favo...oh," he realizes the implication and leans back against the sofa, folding his arms. "You little shit," he mumbles and pouts at TAO. "Had to choose today to not bring the magic whiskey glass along, huh?"

Loki mirrors him, also leaning back with the bottle still in hand and the corners of his lips twitch. No mad grin yet but Tony's annoyance must have satisfied him at least a little bit, so Tony takes that as a win.

"I doubt there's any need to prove the existence of magic to the son of a sorceress as powerful as Frigga, much less with self-filling glasses of alcohol," she retorts, and Tony has to physically restrain himself from facepalming.

So much for staying away from the elephant in the room.

Loki is equally unamused, eyes narrowed at TAO. "There is nothing any of you could possibly do that would confuse me, Midgardians. Your silly magic included."

"Ohhhhhkay," Tony reboots in under a second, just in time to put a placating hand on TAO's shoulder. "He didn't mean that, so hold your horses," he tells her, recognizing that warning glint in her gaze that usually appears before someone gets sent to another dimension.

"Your horses will also not confuse me and I most definitely mean that, mortal."

"See? He means it," TAO purses her lips, eyes locked on her target.

"Uhuh, calm down Houdini. The man's in distress, has no idea what he's saying!"

"Excuse me?!" Loki's head whips towards him.

"He gets a pass. Today. Just today. If he comes back and annoys you, you can send him wherever you want. Just not while I'm in the room...because _no fucking portals_!"

"Agreeable," she sighs, relaxing again. "I already have a few places in mind," she smirks and continues sipping her tea.

Tony groans, putting his hand back and shakes his head at Loki. "Now you've done it. Don't come to me complaining if you end up in some fucked up dimension for an hour, I did warn you...idiot," he mutters. He wasn't kidding before - his self-preservation ability is extremely low, to a point of having a constant death wish but even he wouldn't dare have THIS much fun at TAO's expense if he were already on her shit list.

"What did you just dare call me, human pest?!"

Calling demi-gods idiots, now that's still well within his death wish limits.

"You keep name-calling us so I thought it was free real estate. We do have names, you know? Sure, we are mortals and humans and Midgardians, but that's just such a mouthful to deal with. That's what names have been invented for, unless you want us to call you Asgardian, kinda-immortal, witch...idiot," Tony grins.

"You can call me by my rightful and proper title, pest!"

"Ooooooh, that's the spirit! Ain't calling you Loki, the Prince of Asgard and God of Mischief - you can forget it right here and now, darling. Better have recorded that because it's the last time those words leave my mouth."

"How dare you - "

"I dare because...oh that's right, I dare because we kicked your ass, _Loki_. You, your stick of bullshitery and your alien army - we kicked y'alls asses," he smirks with a little frown at his vocabulary. He needs to stop hanging around Barnes. And Barnes needs to stop hanging around that damn Texan sorcerer. "My best buddy Bruce kicked your ass in particular, as this floor over there remembers only too well. Want me to call him so we can talk about what we should call each other? The Hulk loves talking...not."

Loki's glare flashes a pained grimace at his not so subtle mention of the Hulk, eyes fleeting to the Loki-shaped outline in the floor nearby. "Names are fine," he says with a great deal of reluctance, taking two large gulps of the whiskey. "Stark," he adds.

"Hm. I'll allow that...for now. So, now that we're uh...on name basis, care to tell us where you've been after your lucky escape?"

"Places," he shrugs like a petulant child, clearly not caring to tell them anything about his escapades.

"Hear that, TAO? He took the Tesseract and _went to places_ ," Tony tells her with a great deal of sarcasm. "Who would have guessed?"

"Both the Space and Mind stones are now in the safekeeping of Asgard, I take it?"

"They are," Loki answers, his attention back to staring at his feet.

"Malekith and his armies defeated?"

"Yes," he spits through gritted teeth.

"And the Reality stone?"

"Reality stone?" Tony frowns at her.

"Taken to Knowhere, to the Collector. Two infinity stones on Asgard are already too many, we couldn't keep the third."

"Agreed," she nods, both of them completely ignoring Tony. "Although Knowhere might not be the best place for it, given the Collector's completionistic nature. I do believe he had voiced the ambition to collect all the infinity stones in the past and I doubt he changed his mind since then."

"Hold on, the Aether is the Reality stone? These fucking things are all over the place lately!"

"Collector's hardly the only one in the universe with such ambition," Loki mumbles.

"Naturally."

"We had limited options however...and Odin decided Knowhere will be the safest place for it, so..."

"You seem to disagree as well," TAO observes.

Loki scoffs, taking another swig of the whiskey. "I told him _nowhere_ is safe for the infinity stones...must have misunderstood the wording."

"Unlikely. Odin had no choice but to find a new residence for the stone or bear the responsibility for all three of them. Given the circumstances, it's understandable why Knowhere would be chosen."

"Given the circumstances?" Loki repeats and squints at her.

"Did you know that Friday is everybody's favorite day of the week?"

Tony double-takes so fast he nearly gives himself whiplash.

"Shouldn't be a surprise, it's the last working day of the week, teasing the relaxing two days of the weekend and catering to nightly celebrations of the week's passed. In most modern societies on Earth anyway," she continues despite their confusion. "Friday is simply the best."

"Your point?" Loki spits out.

"I rarely have any," she smiles, proving Tony wrong once again.

That smile isn't just reserved for him and her cute apprentices after all, but it's still surreal to watch her gently smile at the man she threatened only a few moments ago.

"All I know is the mystic arts and the endless flood of arguably interesting history trivia. Like how most nations on Earth named their days of the week in such a way that reflects their numerical order. First day, second day, third day, day that comes after that day, or before that day...there's no other concept or deeper meaning to it. But some parts of Europe deemed it not enough. They believed days aren't just numbers to be counted - days are to be celebrated, they are the cycle of our continuous existence, they are meaningful and should therefore be called by names that have meaning to us."

 _'What the hell is she on about_?!'

_I may have a theory, Sir._

_'Then by all means, do share with my useless meatbrain, J_.'

_I would never call your brain useless. Perhaps it's for the best to let the Ancient One explain though._

' _You just really have no idea either, huh?_ '

_If you'd prefer to think so?_

"How exciting," Loki rolls his eyes, all but drowning himself in the remaining contents of the whiskey bottle. "I think you have me mistaken for him," he waves a nonchalant hand at Tony, who grabs his chest in mock defense. "He might enjoy my brother's ramblings about Asgard but I am most certainly not interested in Midgardian history nor customs."

"Our silly human, mortal ancestors were so enamored by the visiting Goddess and Queen of Asgard that they named one of our silly human days after her - among other things."

' _Oh_.'

 _Oh indeed, Sir_.

"Friday, Freitag, Fredag, Freideg...the name survived hundreds of generations, societal, religious and governmental changes and even natural linguistic evolution throughout the years. The origin or meaning behind it is mostly lost on us today, unfortunately, but do know that there was a time on Midgard when Freya - or Frigga as she preferred if I remember correctly - was so beloved, that us simple mortals wanted to be constantly reminded of her and her brief presence among us. At least once a week, to be exact."

Loki stares at the now almost empty bottle, a far-away look in his eyes, lips twisted in a grimace Tony can't read.

"The days of old are long gone, so long in fact that most rather don't think about it at all. Our short mortal lives are not equipped for that and with each passing generation, lives fade as well as memories do. Humans today know nothing of Frigga and the joy and love she brought wherever she appeared, the gentle heart and soul that she had, nor the great power she wielded through her magic. They only know her as the mythical Goddess of old - perhaps not as mythical as they thought, in light of Thor's return. Her passing will go unnoticed by them all, but do know that those who did have the privilege of meeting her and knowing her are greatly saddened by the news. It is a tragedy - yet it is of no surprise," she sighs, her fingers fiddling with the teacup absentmindedly. "She made it no secret, that she loved her people and Asgard above all else. All - except for her family. Nothing compared to the love she bore for her husband and children. Protecting them and protecting Asgard would always come first, no matter the cost."

Tony gulps, a strange pressure settling around his chest, like someone just wrapped a hand around his heart and squeezed. Extremis works quickly to identify the new source of his emotional discomfort, trying to block it out but for once Tony doesn't let it. Sure - getting rid of panic attacks and anxiety is handy at times but relying on this ability with every distressing emotion he'll ever have seems wrong. Emotions exist for a reason, good or bad. Without them, he would be slipping right onto the path of a psychopath and he can't have that.

It's still been a while though, since he felt anything close to this...this... _pain_. He knows it's because nobody really talks about it. He sure doesn't and everyone else stopped shortly after.

After the accident.

There was a funeral, a wake, few newspaper pieces and then - nothing. His mother's existence was reduced to the memory he had of her. It's like she's never even existed in the first place. The only actual proof being Tony himself and her charity foundation and in both cases, Tony prefers blissful ignorance - exactly because of this gripping pain that he has no proficiency in handling. It's unbearable. The more he wants to forget it, the more it hurts. The more he lets it run its course, the more it hurts.

The never-ending cycle of pain and longing.

The Ancient One called him out on it when he damn near burst into tears every time she dared call him Anthony, and he knows that she's right. That he shouldn't be so adamant about fighting it, because he's essentially robbing himself of all the good feelings he has associated with his mother, as well as the bad associated with her death. What he doesn't know is how to balance it, _how to deal with it_. Not without drowning in insurmountable amounts of alcohol.

Both Thor and Loki seem to relate to that same idea. For them it's still raw and recent though, Tony should have figured it out already, but he just can't.

He ignores the sting of tears in his eyes and the disturbing thought that he can emotionally relate to the man responsible for months of horrific nightmares following his alien invasion and settles for glaring at the Ancient One.

A loud crash and splintering of glass brings him out of it though, gaze slipping to Loki - who finished the whiskey and promptly smashed the bottle against the floor. His nostrils are flaring, and his eyes are still stubbornly pinned downward, not even in the mood for glaring at the annoying, insightful woman. His lips keep twitching, like he's bursting with the need to say something but also fighting to stay silent.

Tony sighs, getting up and inspecting the carnage on the floor. He has no idea how this has now become his life but here he is, in a room with two wizards - one who saved his life and one who tried to kill him, and instead of jumping out of the window, willingly this time, and flying as far away from here as possible, he just tiptoes to the bar again and grabs a vodka bottle Natasha tends to stash in here because she knows he wouldn’t drink it.

"This thing," he approaches Loki while squinting at the bottle, "is few percents away from being pure ethanol. In other words, it's completely undrinkable without watering it down or being a Slav. I would personally just use it to disinfect stuff. See how you like it," he opens it up and places it in line of Loki's absent gaze.

TAO is back to sipping tea, clearly satisfied with whatever she's been trying to achieve with her trivia lesson, so he decides against continuing his glaring challenge.

"Better not mention where the word for _Thursday_ comes from," he whispers to her while sitting back down, closer to her this time.

She smiles at him, nodding. "Better not."

"This isn't so bad," Loki hums, chugging down the vodka.

"Figures," Tony shakes his head, relaxing against the sofa again.

One thing Tony can't relate to is having siblings. He has never been bothered by the fact. As a kid he hardly saw any advantage in having someone his own age to...compete with? Thanks to Howard, his childhood was all about competition, so it's probably for the best that his parents stopped at him. There's always Rhodey, who he always regarded as a brother, despite not fully understanding what that means. It just felt right. Him and Rhodey, that's how he understands brotherhood.

That's why Thor and Loki seem to be such a complicated puzzle for him to fathom. Where Tony and Rhodey have each other's back, harmlessly pranking and teasing each other in worst of times, Thor and Loki's relationship fluctuates between times of relative peace where Loki tolerates his brother and the times of high tension where Loki backstabs Thor at every opportunity - and not just metaphorically. _Actually stabs him_ in the back, dagger and all.

Then there's Thor - a guy who can punch through a set of walls without much effort but is as giant of a teddy-bear as Bruce. So instead of being extremely perturbed by Loki's literal backstabbing nature, he mostly just laughs and waves it off, finding it funny. Like that's how siblings roll on Asgard, sure! A little bit of backstabbing, that's all fun and games!

Tony bets that this approach must greatly piss Loki off. Going through all that trouble of building this snakey image, teasing and bullying Thor at every corner and instead of rousing equally violent responses, Thor just shrugs it off as their brotherly bond and banter, even telling the stories of his mischief to them and his friends on Asgard as if they were epic tales of awesome adventures or something. Not Loki's blatant efforts to undermine or straight up get rid of Thor, who he sees as competition for the throne of Asgard.

That's what Thor told him, when Tony asked about this strange dynamic between them.

" _He wants to rule Asgard, because in his eyes that is the only way of getting the respect and admiration he so craves. I was no different, always seeing myself as the future ruler because it is my privilege and birthright. We both had the wrong reasons for it. Should you ask our mother, she would tell you I might have been even more of a...brat about it than Loki. It took quite the effort from my parents to help me see just how wrong I have been, going as far as exiling me! It made me realize something else entirely. Of course, I still want to rule Asgard," he chuckled, "but in regards to Loki, all I want is a brother. His intrigue and mischief, all of it. Perhaps one day, he shall also come to the same conclusion. That he already has our respect and admiration. That he doesn't need to compete with me for any of it. He will still have to compete for the throne, but we can have a true contest, as men and brothers both! That would be a grand spectacle of a battle!"_ he laughed.

Knowing how TAO just described Thor's mother, Tony can tell the man has inherited a great deal of her compassion and spirit. He can't imagine how else he could so easily forgive Loki and still want him in his life in such a major capacity. Thor never denied some form of punishment was in store for Loki, the attack on Earth being a step too far, but Tony also figured that punishment alone is what Odin is after, whereas Thor - and likely Frigga - seek rehabilitation on top of it. So that they can have their brother and son back one day.

Loki might be an enigmatic and complex man for most, but Tony understands him on more levels than he wants to admit even to himself right now. The innate need to be accepted, acknowledged and respected by his peers, by his father...Tony wonders how he himself didn't end up on the same road as Loki, having had the same experience as a child and teen. Trying to prove himself worthy is something he still can't shake off, decades later.

So he understands. He understands Thor, he understands Loki...and maybe this newly found common ground will eventually help them all. It will be a rocky road - as all roads to redemption are - but none of them are left alone on it.

Not anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Teamfluff and some holiday spirit(s) <3


	9. 2013 - Last Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Ironstrangers! Hope you had a lovely weekend and are all staying safe and healthy wherever you are! <3 Now to kick-off this week with some more soft TeamVengers, shall we? ^^ Enjoy!

“Oooooh-kay, which one of you idiots put up lights on the Christmas tree in the shape of a penis,” Happy barges in on them in the kitchen, his glare firmly aimed at Clint albeit addressing them all.

Birdbrain and Loki point sideways at each other much to everyone’s amusement.

“Jesus, Clint. Your kids are en-route, ETA fifteen minutes and there’s a dick on the tree?” Tony sputters, while the others burst into chuckles.

“Dude! It was _him_!” he intensifies his pointing towards the smirking demi-god.

“Go de-cockify the tree, Birdbrain,” Tony tells him, pursing his lips to not explode in laughter.

Clint flails his hands, double-pointing at Loki now. “Hellooooo~?! The God of Mischief over there!”

“Uhuh,” Natasha hums, shaking her head. “Go fix the lights.”

“But- ”

“Even if _he_ did it, if _you_ don’t fix it, Laura will own your ass,” she points out with a shrug.

“Man!” he pouts, sending Loki a glare on his way out.

Tony has no idea when those two stopped sending actual death glares at each other whenever Loki decided to grace them with his presence, but he knows that after the drunken affair that had been the Halloween party, the two started relentlessly pranking each other instead.

Even though Loki’s involvement in the attack on Earth had since been explained, Clint has certainly not been in a forgiving mood. Nobody could blame him.

Tony definitely isn’t best buddies with the guy but they all have an understanding now.

Getting the whole story of Loki’s escapades before and after New York took some major persuading – and alcohol. Tony’s not sure if it were for the best or not, because instead of appeasing their collective nightmares, more have been added to their plate.

The actual villain behind the attack and the owner of the army Tony accidentally exploded to hell, is someone Loki only ever refers to as the Mad Titan. He must truly be worthy of his nickname if he strikes so much respect and fear into the equally mad Asgardian God.

Amid all the doppelganger and HYDRA madness, Tony almost forgot that they are now part of something bigger, more dangerous than anything they had ever faced before. War that goes way beyond their planet and solar system, with opponents way more powerful and technologically advanced than them.

The futurist in him had already kicked into overdrive since Loki’s sinister warning that confirmed Tony’s fears – this is not over. The attack was just the beginning, a taste of what’s coming next.

They need to get ready.

He naturally started like a gazillion different projects at once; everything from upgrading his and the team’s gear to thinking even bigger, like an entire planet protecting kinda bigger. With the magical barriers already set by the sorcerers, he’s got some more techie solutions in mind, in case magic isn’t quite enough.

Him and Bruce are going to science that up so hard nobody will likely see them for the majority of next year because they’ll just permanently bunk down in the labs.

Whoever the Mad Titan is and whatever he’s planning, he managed to send Loki running off to the furthest corners of the universe to escape his wrath. If that isn’t a reason enough for them to kickstart the space age, then Tony doesn’t know what else possibly could be.

The kind of resources he’s going to need though might just be well out of his reach. No matter how wealthy he might be, he simply cannot buy resources that this planet has a limited supply of. He’s gonna have to get creative and thankfully, Extremis allows him to do exactly that – all the while this Christmas party is happening around him.

If he had to pick, this would be the one thing about Extremis he so far loves the most – the ability to both work on five different projects with JARVIS in his head, while also tracking down the culprit who’s been getting away with stealing the gingerbread cookies.

His money is on one of the James’s.

“You have the strangest of customs,” Loki comments, watching Pepper and Rhodey hanging mistletoe in the doorway.

“Oh yeah? Remind me that summer solstice thing you do on Asgard?”

“What do you mean?” Loki frowns at him.

“The one where you spend a week food-battling each other?”

“Pffft, that is a perfectly ordinary affair,” he snorts, cringing at the eggnog Nat passes them both. “This sludge reminds me of what we use to throw at one another,” he adds, but drinks it anyway.

“You’ve got a taste for Midgardian drinks, don’t even try denying it,” Tony chuckles.

“Is that why your bar is permanently out of stock lately?” Bruce raises his eyebrows at them. “Nat complained.”

“I was hiding my vodka in there,” she squints at Loki.

“What?” he raises his hands in defense. “He probably drank it,” he waves at Tony, who gasps dramatically.

“Nice try. Tony wouldn’t drink that; he thinks it tastes like bleach.”

“Don’t ask me why I know how bleach tastes.”

“Ohhhh that goes waaaay back to the MIT days,” Rhodey materializes next to him. “I don’t remember that weekend.”

“Neither do I.”

“Remember waking up at the ER?”

“Nope. That whole week is a complete blur for me. No idea how I passed that Monday exam either.”

“Your autopilot mode was always too good, man.”

“Good times,” he nods. “Alright, I’m starving.”

“We just had lunch.”

“Ohhh but what about second lunch, Brucie-bear?”

“You’re insatiable.”

“Yup. My _extreme_ appetite demands snacks, come on Captain my Captain,” he makes puppy dog eyes at Steve.

“Grab some gingerb- oh,” Steve waves at the now completely empty plate.

Tony looks at the plate, then up at the very picture of innocence that is Barnes.

“Those were real good,” Barnes smirks, stray couple of crumbs stuck in his growing stubble the evidence of his _crime_. “I was hungry,” he shrugs at Cap’s little glare.

“Yeah, Capsicle. Supersoldier stomach over there. Extremis needs some extra fuel too, so…gib,” he makes grabby hands at Steve.

“This is all for dinner,” Steve flails at the cooker and the dozens of pots and baking dishes spread over the counters. “No nibbling on these or we’ll have nothing left!”

“Relax, Steve,” Nat rolls her eyes and walks over to the fridge. “We’ve got some leftover take out from yest…erday,” she opens it, only to find a jug of milk and juice in there. “Never mind.”

“Midnight munchies,” Tony shrugs, exchanging a grin with Barnes.

“Yeah…I finished whatever was left of those this morning,” Steve sighs. “Are we seriously out of food?”

“You three are eating like harvesters so I wouldn’t be surprised,” Rhodey chuckles.

“ _Relax_ ,” Nat repeats. “We’re in the middle of Manhattan, 21st century, Cap. Let’s order some kebab. The deli down the street is open today.”

“Now you’re talking,” Tony clasps his hands together. “I’ll get our usual. Make that _triple_ our usual. Bet Thor has already devoured all the sweets left on the coffee table.”

“He tried,” Loki grins. “I got most.”

“Great. Note this down for next year, need to bake more stuff because the adults vacuum it up before the kids even arrive!”

“Don’t worry, we baked a bunch!” Laura enters the kitchen, pies stacked in both hands.

“Oh you’re a life-saver!” Tony gives her a little bow and helps her with the goodies. “Is this the strawberry one? I’ve heard legends and myths about your strawberry pie, I must investigate it for science,” he adds, grabbing one immediately.

“For science, huh? In that case, better share with your bff,” Rhodey sticks to him, eying the pie over his shoulder.

“He said science, that means he’s sharing with his science bro,” Bruce joins in, eying the pie with unusual interest.

Clint did hype them up for that pie.

“And who said anything about sharing?” Tony shakes them off, clinging onto the pie protectively.

“Oh come on, you can’t possibly eat the whole thing and still have enough space for kebab!” Rhodey whines.

“You underestimate my power,” he laughs like a good old-fashioned villain.

“Children,” Loki slips around them out into the living room, but almost runs back in after just few seconds. “No, no no no. There are _actual_ children out there,” he mutters, diving into the corner, sitting down next to Natasha.

“Scared of tiny Midgardians, are you?” Tony teases him, eyes locking onto Barnes, who is standing next to Steve, eying the pie in Tony’s hands. “No. Don’t even think about it, Robocop.”

“Not thinkin’ about anything,” he says but slowly grins, eyes still on the pie.

“Liar liar, arm’s on fire,” Tony sticks out his tongue at him and bolts. “Catch me if you can!” he shouts back and flees the premises with the coveted piece of pastry.

Dinner is utter chaos. Last year, the Christmas party was a small affair, with just Steve, Bruce, Thor and Jane Foster in addition to Tony's usual group of Pepper, Rhodey and Happy. Now, it almost resembles the wild parties Tony used to throw in his late teens - except the participants are no longer random people.

They're the team. His friends...his very own little circle of family.

Instead of spending Christmas at the farm, Natasha and Clint are here with Laura and the very much excited kiddos - staying for the whole week to experience the Christmas spirit of New York.

Thor and Jane are here again, now along with Loki, who Tony would accuse of trying to chaperone them, if he didn't know him any better. He's probably just trying to annoy them but failing miserably, because Jane keeps cleverly maneuvering them under all the mistletoe traps so that Thor - being the hardcore traditionalist that he is - keeps kissing her at every opportunity, leaving Loki grimacing and glaring at them. Not annoying him enough to give up his scheming, but still a valiant effort on their part.

The magic gang is here, despite TAO's one-hour long monologue about how they shouldn't leave their stations for too long, especially not for something as hedonistic as attending parties. What the Sorcerer Supreme forgot is that Tony is a master negotiator and more importantly, he knows where she lives and how to get there, so the more she kept inventing excuses for not attending, the more he kept pestering her about it. One night at the Sanctum library, he even caught her in her astral form - and proceeded to annoy her still, no matter how many walls she tried to phase through to escape him. In the end, she waved the proverbial white flag and agreed to attend the dinner at least, along with Wong and Mordo.

The biggest surprise was the SHIELD gang. Tony invited them but didn't really expect any of them to show up, especially not Coulson. He's been busy dealing with SHIELD business ever since his faked demise and only came out of the grave - so to speak - to help with the Spring Cleaning. To say the team was in shock was an understatement, but it had nothing on Loki's reaction - or rather Coulson's reaction to Loki.

Lack of a reaction.

The two had a very brief exchange when the agent first arrived, which only ended with a tiny smirk and a dangerous glint in both of their eyes. Tony needs to keep _his_ eye on them because it either means they are about to engage in a prank war - much like Clint - or and _actual_ war. He upgraded Coulson's gun and he'd rather not have it go off anywhere near the Tower. Loki might be in serious trouble there if Coulson knows what setting number six does.

Fury still has his hands full with reorganizing SHIELD - sure, they weeded out HYDRA but it left the SHIELD remnants in a much more broken state than most think. No wonder. Some of the sleeper agents had been there for decades and Tony can’t imagine what it feels like to find out your friend slash colleague has been working for the other side this whole time. They are splintered and need their time alone to regroup and trust each other again, so the Avengers rarely interact with them since then, to give them space. According to Hill, Fury wasn't all too keen on attending, but inspected the invitation and said something along the lines of: "Fuck it, it's Christmas, let's go", so here they are.

Sharon is here as well, although Tony could swear he didn't invite her. Not that he minds. Despite their mutual connection through Peggy, who they both called aunt their whole life, they don't really know each other at all, definitely not enough to be spending holidays together. It took him an hour and one poignant eye-roll from Pepper when he still didn't get it, to realize she's here with Steve. As in _with_ Steve...he _thinks_. Judging by Natasha's evil smirking and Steve's initial surprise at her presence, there's something he's missing here. Likely some elaborate matchmaking plan that he's not been brought on board for...he's gonna need to have words about that with the spider and demand all related juicy details.

Which leaves Barnes, still a fairly new piece in the puzzle that is their team. Tony half expected him to either cling to Steve or the sorcerers, but the Winter Soldier is a lot more outgoing than he thought. Bucky Barnes, the extroverted party man and flirt, has clearly not been completely destroyed by HYDRA.

Him and Natasha tentatively reintroduced through copious amounts of vodka and keep gossiping in perfect Russian. TAO must have gotten him addicted to that weed tea, so he keeps brewing that shit up and bringing it to Bruce in their lab where he's somehow completely relaxed and loiters around there with that eternal curiosity TAO mentioned he has, asking questions about Bruce's research or inspecting Tony's little gadget inventions with sheer wonder in his eyes. He’s birds of a feather with Clint and indulges Thor in epic sparring sessions and story-telling over Asgardian mead.

Most of all, him and Rhodey are constantly getting together to talk – about their respective best friends, their experiences in the army, the state of the New York neighborhoods; the two James’s clicked together so well they can talk for hours without ever getting bored of each other.

So much so, that it damn near makes said respective best friends a little jealous – something easily resolved by Tony and Steve hanging out together instead, making _them_ a little jealous in return.

They’re the best-worst best friends, all of them.

Tony wouldn’t change any of it. The giant mess they made during dinner that nearly turned into that Asgardian food-battle thing, the terrifying Christmas carols karaoke where he foolishly volunteered to play the piano, the ridiculous ‘pick up your Mjolnir’ challenge, nor the after-midnight drunken game of Activity – that Loki absolutely nailed in the pantomime arena, even if he cheated with magic.

In the morning, their collapsed forms littering the floor of the living room get a loud wake-up call from Clint’s kids, bull-rushing the presents underneath the tree and for the first time since the eventful winter of 1991, Tony finds himself embracing the estranged feeling of belonging, family and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: 2014. Dread it, run from it...destiny arrives all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> Will try to update weekly, either the weekends or Wednesday! ^^


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